Salzburg remain imperious with Standard success

FC Salzburg posted their third successive win in UEFA Europa League Group C by beating bottom team R. Standard de Liège 2-1.

Both sides were reduced to ten men in the first half before Salzburg sparked into life, with Jonatan Soriano and André Ramalho registering either side of a second dismissal for Standard, Kanu seeing red. Now down to nine, the visitors finally had something to cheer when Geoffrey Mujangi Bia converted from the spot two minutes from time.

A flurry of early corners augured well for the Austrian outfit, yet Standard defended diligently to keep the scores level. They also offered an incisive threat on the counter through effervescent winger Mehdi Carcela-González, who perhaps should have done better when he disturbed the side netting after cutting in from the right.

Carcela-González's frustrations were compounded moments later when he was shown a second yellow card for upending Sadio Mané as the Salzburg midfielder hurtled towards the area. The hosts' numerical advantage was fleeting, though, as Mané soon suffered an identical fate.

The passing was pure and precise from Roger Schmidt's men in the second half, paving the way for a 53rd-minute opener. Kevin Kampl's venomous drive from the edge of the area was charged down by Laurent Ciman but deflected kindly into the path of Soriano, who coolly caressed the ball into the far corner.

Standard's hopes were then dealt a decisive blow when Kanu was sent off midway through the period, and Ramalho swept in Kampl's cutback five minutes from time. As the clock ticked down, Bia rolled in a penalty after Michy Batshuayi had been upended, but it proved in vain.