Anderlecht crowned champion on last day

BRUSSELS (AP) — Anderlecht won its third straight Belgian league title on Sunday's final day of the playoffs, beating Lokeren 3-1 at home to keep Standard Liege at bay.

Anderlecht trailed by as many as 8 points in the playoffs between the top six league finishers but had a sterling final run under new coach Besnik Hasi, who replaced Dutch coach John van den Brom only in March.

Anderlecht won the title with 51 points, 2 more than Standard Liege. Club Brugge finished third with 48.

Anderlecht now goes straight into the Champions League, while Standard Liege secured Champions League qualifying by beating Racing Genk 1-0.

It was the record 33th title for the Brussels club.