| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matthieu Epolo | ||
| Date of birth | 15 January 2005[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Belgium[1] | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Standard Liège | ||
| Number | 28 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2015 | Anderlecht | ||
| 2003–2015 | Standard Liege | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022– | Standard Liege | 13 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021-2022 | Belgium U17 | 7 | (0) |
| 2022-2023 | Belgium U18 | 0 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 24 September 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 September 2024 | |||
Matthieu Luka Epolo (born 15 January 2005) is a Belgian footballer who plays for Standard Liège. Epolo first became known to international football audiences for keeping six clean sheets in his first eight games of the 2024-25 Belgian Pro League season, making him the most successful goalkeeper for shutouts in the top-20 ranked European leagues.[2]
Club career
editEpolo came through the youth academy of RSC Anderlecht, moving to Standard Liège at the age of fourteen in 2019. He made his professional debut on 26 August 2022 in the shirt of SL16 FC, the newly-launched Standard reserve team playing in the second-flight Challenger Pro League for the 2022-23 season. He started SL16's third match of the season against FCV Dender EH, and ultimately shared game-time with SL16's other main goalkeeper Tom Poitoux, who played 19 games to Epolo's 18.
Epolo was promoted to the first-team for the 2023-24 Belgian Pro League season, and played the final five games of Standard's campaign, due to both transfer speculation and an injury for first-choice goalkeeper Arnaud Bodart. He made his league debut on 27 April 2024 against Sint-Truiden.[3]
Further transfer speculation saw Bodart kept out of the first-team at the start of the following 2024-25 season,[4] with Epolo starting as regular first-choice goalkeeper as a 19-year-old. Epolo kept clean sheets in Standard's first three games of the season against Racing Genk, Club Brugge and KV Mechelen to give them an unbeaten start.[5] [6] [7]
Epolo went on to keep six clean sheets in his first eight league games of the season with Standard conceding only three goals in that time, scoring four to climb to the top half of the table.[2]
- ^ a b c "M. Epolo: Summary". soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- ^ a b "Geen doelman in Europa hield dit seizoen vaker de nul dan Standard-sluitstuk Matthieu Epolo: "Hij verdient dit na alle kritiek" (No goalkeeper in Europe has kept more clean sheets this season than Standard goalkeeper Matthieu Epolo: "He deserves this after all the criticism")" (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. 21 September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ "Standard vs. Sint-Truidense V.V. - 27 April 2024 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
- ^ "Leko heeft eindelijk zijn spits(en), maar krijgen we ook een offensiever Standard? "Nu begint het echte werk" (Leko finally has his striker(s), but will we also get a more offensive Standard? "Now the real work begins")" (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ "Blok op de doellijn en paal houden Karetsas en Genk van zege in bleke openingsmatch tegen Standard (Block on the goal line and post keep Karetsas and Genk from victory in pale opening match against Standard)" (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. 28 July 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ "Club Brugge verslikt zich nu ook in Standard (1-0) en heeft competitiestart vollédig gemist (Club Brugge now also chokes against Standard (1-0) and has completely missed the start of the competition)" (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ "Standard grijpt naast leidersplaats, maar blijft wel ongeslagen na scoreloos gelijkspel tegen KV Mechelen (Standard misses out on top spot, but remains unbeaten after scoreless draw against KV Mechelen)" (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.