Standard Liege defeated Beveren 3-0 on Friday at Stade Maurice Dufrasne in the Jupiler Pro League, ending a five-match winless run in the domestic championship, as reported by DHnet.

The club’s supporters had voiced their discontent in the stands at the end of the previous match against Kortrijk, leaving the players aware they could not afford to falter.

Ayensa leads the attack

Dennis Ayensa opened the scoring just five minutes into the match, turning a close-range chance past Beveren goalkeeper Johannes Schenk, as reported by L’Avenir. Salieuh Drammeh had already missed the target in the third minute before Ayensa found the small space to convert. At the opposite end, Matthieu Epolo reacted quickly in the twelfth minute to intervene at the feet of Victor Olatunji.

Ryan Fosso infiltrated the penalty area before the half-hour mark following a neat one-two with Ayensa, but the midfielder’s shot sailed over. Adnane Abid missed an opportunity to extend the lead when his left-footed shot was too angled, and Drammeh saw a deflected effort land on the roof of the net before Rayan Touzghar had a goal disallowed for offside.

Beveren returned with better intentions after the interval, but Ayensa created the first major chance of the second half with a shot stopped by Schenk.

Ayensa completed his hat-trick in the 68th minute following a pass from Adnane Abid; according to RTBF, he is the first Standard player to score three goals in a league match since Michy Batshuayi in 2013. Epolo preserved the clean sheet in stoppage time with a fine reflex save on a header from Olatunji following a corner kick.

“I might have fewer hate messages on social media now,” Ayensa said after the match, according to DHnet.

Fosso anchors midfield

Coach Vincent Euvrard shifted his side back to a 4-3-3 formation after a disappointing start against Kortrijk, inserting Ryan Fosso into a deeper role. DHnet reported that the 24-year-old former Sturm Graz player led the team with 73 completed passes while providing defensive cover in duels.

“If you take ball recovery as the primary criterion for a number six, Ryan obviously has that quality,” Euvrard told DHnet, pointing to the player’s 950,000-euro transfer value and his status as a Cameroon international.

Fosso acknowledged the tactical shift after playing his first full match of the season. “I had everyone’s confidence, I wasn’t too worried,” Fosso said, according to DHnet.

Standard climbs to 7th place before international break

With the 3-0 victory, Standard climbed to 15 points and moved into 7th place in the Jupiler Pro League standings, while Beveren remained 13th with 10 points, according to RTL Info. The league now pauses for the international break.

Standard will play a closed-door friendly against Borussia Mönchengladbach next Thursday to give match practice to players with fewer minutes, DHnet reported. Five international players will miss the friendly due to national team call-ups: Matthieu Epolo with DR Congo, Ryan Fosso with Cameroon, Dennis Ayensa with Iran, Marco Ilaimaharitra with Madagascar, and Gustav Mortensen with Denmark’s under-21s.