2012–13 Belgian Pro League
| Season | 2012–13 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Anderlecht |
| Relegated | Beerschot |
| Champions League |
Anderlecht Zulte Waregem |
| Europa League |
Genk Club Brugge Standard Liège |
| Matches played | 302 |
| Goals scored | 880 (2.91 per match) |
| Top goalscorer |
Carlos Bacca (25 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Standard 7–0 Gent |
| Biggest away win | Beerschot 1–7 Club Brugge |
| Highest scoring |
Charleroi 2–6 Standard Liège Waasland-Beveren 2–6 Club Brugge Beerschot 1–7 Club Brugge OH Leuven 2–6 Lokeren |
| Longest winning run | 11 matches Anderlecht |
| Longest unbeaten run | 17 matches Zulte Waregem |
| Longest winless run | 14 matches Beerschot Cercle Brugge |
| Longest losing run | 9 matches Cercle Brugge |
|
← 2011–12
2013–14 →
|
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The 2012–13 season of the Belgian Pro League (also known as Jupiler Pro League for sponsorship reasons) was the 110th season of top-tier football in Belgium. It started on 28 July 2012 with the first match of the regular season between Kortrijk and defending champions Anderlecht, and ended on 26 May 2013, which was the return leg of the European playoff.
During the regular season, Club Brugge took the early lead but then started struggling, eventually leading to the sacking of head coach Georges Leekens when they dropped out of the top 6 in November. Anderlecht and overachievers Zulte Waregem took over the top two positions and comfortably held these until the playoffs.
The title playoffs started with Anderlecht on 34 points and Zulte Waregem just behind them on 32. Due to the division of the points by two, they held a smaller lead over Genk (28 points), Club Brugge (27), Lokeren (26) and Standard (25). To the surprise of many, Zulte Waregem took the lead about halfway through the playoffs and with Anderlecht not performing well and suffering a penalty kick trauma (missing no less than 10 penalty kicks over the course of the season and going out on penalties to Genk in the Belgian Cup), both Genk, Club Brugge and Standard Liège rapidly close the gap. Anderlecht managed to overtake Zulte Waregem again and went into the final match on 19 May 2013, at home against Zulte Waregem, with a two-point lead. Anderlecht equalized after going down 0-1 and under pressure managed to hold on, even though losing Cheikhou Kouyaté due to a red card. With that, Anderlecht won its 32nd title. The draw allowed Zulte Waregem to remain just in front of Club Brugge, thereby gaining access to the Champions League. Club Brugge and Genk qualified for the Europa League, due to finishing 3rd and winning the Cup respectively.
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