Praise for Oh Hyun-gyu (24, KRC Genk) continues to pour in from the European stage.

Genk defeated Gent 4-0 in a home match at the Cegeka Arena in Genk, Belgium, on the 31st (Korea time) during the first round of the championship group of the 2024-2025 season Belgian Pro League.

With this victory, Genk secured 37 points and firmly maintained the top position, with a 4-point lead over second-placed Club Brugge (33 points). The Pro League has the top six teams from the regular league advance to the championship group, carrying over half of their existing points to compete for the title.

In the early stages of the match, Genk got off to a shaky start, missing back-to-back penalties in the 15th and 23rd minutes, failing to capitalize on early scoring opportunities. While the momentum seemed to be shifting toward Gent, Konstantinos Koutoupis scored the opener in the 38th minute, regaining the team’s spirit. In the 50th minute, Tolu Arokodare added another goal, widening the gap.

The player who sealed the victory was Oh Hyun-gyu.

Torsten Pink, the coach, substituted Oh Hyun-gyu for Arokodare in the 70th minute. This substitution paid off immediately. In the 88th minute, Oh Hyun-gyu connected with a non-stop shot from a pass by Patrick Groszewski, completing the team’s third goal.

Riding the momentum, Oh Hyun-gyu shook the net again during stoppage time. After a solo dribble from behind the halfway line that broke through the opponent's defense, he calmly finished with a low pass from Groszewski. In just 20 minutes since being substituted in, he scored two goals, ensuring Genk's victory.

After the match, Pink noted, "Although there were challenges due to the two missed penalties, the team did not lose the winning mentality they have shown throughout the season. We will put everything into the remaining two away games."

With this match, Oh Hyun-gyu further solidified his standing within the team. He has recorded 12 goals and 1 assist in 33 official games this season, with only 691 minutes of play and just 2 starts. Nevertheless, he is now just two goals shy of his personal best single-season record of 14 goals, achieved during the 2022 season with Suwon Samsung.

In this match, Oh Hyun-gyu attempted two shots during his 20 minutes on the field, both resulting in goals. The soccer statistics media 'Footmob' awarded him the highest rating in the team with a score of 8.6.

Belgium's 'Sportza' reported, "Oh Hyun-gyu is the most threatening substitute in all of Europe. Based on his records, he shows better statistics than world-class players like Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah. He scored 8 out of 9 goals in matches where he was brought on as a substitute."

Sportza expressed astonishment, saying, "Oh Hyun-gyu averages a goal every 48 minutes. In comparison, considering that Usman Dembele has the best record of over 30 minutes in one of the top five European leagues, scoring one goal every 72 minutes, this is an overwhelming achievement."

The media emphasized, "Even Kane (1 goal per 88 minutes), Robert Lewandowski (1 goal per 89 minutes), and Salah (1 goal per 95 minutes) have worse records compared to Oh Hyun-gyu. Such records from a substitute make him an extraordinary player. Oh Hyun-gyu is the best substitute in Europe."

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