Anderlecht were missing the services of their top scorer Mohammed Tchite, who was out injured, but Argentine striker Nicolas Frutos covered his absence and scored the winning goal after 73 minutes.

Hassan played for almost the entire game and was taken off in the 89th minute as the Egyptian skipper gave a solid performance to help his team hold on to the victory.

A second leg draw will be enough for Anderlecht to oust the league leaders Genk from the cup competition when they face off in the second leg on March 14th.

Hassan's Purple and White lie 2nd in the Belgian league with 51 points, only two points behind Genk.