Standard Liège secured a 3-0 victory against SK Beveren at Stade Maurice Dufrasne on Friday, November 6, 2026, lifting the club to 15 points and seventh place in the Jupiler Pro League standings, according to Sudinfo.
SK Beveren remained in 13th place with 10 points following the 11th-round fixture. Dennis Eckert Ayensa opened the scoring early in the fifth minute before adding a penalty in the 64th minute and completing a hat-trick in the 68th minute.
The win marked Standard’s first league victory since September 5, 2026, as reported by Sudinfo. Head coach Vincent Euvrard deployed a 4-3-3 formation to regain midfield control after a slow start in recent matches, DHnet noted. The tactical switch allowed summer arrival Ryan Fosso to make his first full start of the season in a defensive midfield role.
Ryan Fosso delivered a standout performance in his first full appearance for the club, registering a team-high 73 completed passes while winning key physical duels, DHnet reported. The 24-year-old Cameroon international, born in Lugano and formerly with Sturm Graz, had previously seen limited minutes and remained on the bench against KV Kortrijk.
“We were waiting for the return of Nielsen. We had to take another option. Fosso is very powerful and knows how to play forward. He knew how to free the others,” Cécile De Gernier observed, as cited by RTBF. Consultant Vincent Langendries described the defensive midfielder as a stabilizing force for the team.
Coach Vincent Euvrard explained that Fosso’s defensive work rate and pressing capability compensated for tactical shifts on the left flank involving Gustav Mortensen and Ibe Hautekiet, according to DHnet. “If you take ball recovery as the primary criterion for a number 6, Ryan obviously has that quality,” Euvrard said, pointing out that Fosso also brings progressive ball-playing traits developed during his time in Austria.
Moving Fosso into the defensive anchor role allowed technical midfielder Alexis Trouillet to operate further up the pitch, where analysts noted his creative impact improved significantly. “At home, when Trouillet finds himself as a central defender to direct the game, he is useless. I prefer him 15 to 25 meters higher up where his footballing qualities come out directly,” Philippe Albert detailed, according to RTBF.
Alongside the midfield adjustments, Dennis Eckert Ayensa dismantled the Beveren defense by converting a penalty won by Viktor Boone and capitalizing on an assist from Adnane Abid.
Despite the comfortable margin against a struggling Beveren side currently sitting 15th, football analyst Philippe Albert urged caution regarding Standard’s broader league prospects, telling Sudinfo that the club remains in the mid-table pack due to a lack of squad depth. Albert emphasized that earlier dropped points against Cercle Brugge, KV Mechelen, and KV Kortrijk severely damaged the team’s top-four aspirations.
“The points lost against Cercle, Mechelen, and Kortrijk will cost very dearly: with those six extra units, they would be in contact with the top four,” Albert stated, adding that the Belgian Cup represents the most reliable path to European qualification for the Liège side.
Standard Liège will break for international fixtures without five selected players: Matthieu Epolo with DR Congo, Ryan Fosso with Cameroon, Dennis Eckert Ayensa with Iran, Marco Ilaimaharitra with Madagascar, and Gustav Mortensen with Denmark’s under-21 squad, DHnet confirmed.
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