Anderlecht march on with perfect record intact

RSC Anderlecht beat SK Sturm Graz 3-0 to claim their fourth successive Group L victory and wrap up a round of 32 place with two games to spare.

Guillaume Gillet opened the scoring for Anderlecht midway through the first half, but it was not until after the 58th-minute dismissal of Sturm's Ferdinand Feldhofer that the hosts pulled away. The competition's leading scorer, Matías Suárez, took his tally to six with a header on 74 minutes and Tom De Sutter rounded the win off by adding a third.

Sturm coach Franco Foda's pre-match claim that his side could "spring a surprise" appeared credible early on, midfielder Manuel Weber's rasping drive from just outside the penalty area serving as a warning to Silvio Proto. The home goalkeeper needed to be even more alert soon after, diving athletically to deny Roman Kienast.

It was Ariël Jacobs' side who then took the lead, though, Gillet connecting with Suárez's curling cross with a powerful low drive. Sacha Kljestan could have extended that advantage on the half-hour but blasted over from 15 metres.

Sturm's holding midfielders Weber and Matthias Koch helped to keep Anderlecht at bay at the start of the second half, but Feldhofer's red card made their task even trickier. Suárez all but wrapped up the points when he finished off Marcin Wasilewski's delivery, before substitute De Sutter applied a neat left-footed finish with nine minutes left.