mbokani raises standard to new high published: friday 7 november 2008, 0.58cet r. standard de liège 1-0 sevilla fc the belgian side got off to a winning start in group c against the two-time uefa cup winners courtesy of a first-half strike from dieudonné mbokani.
european competition again brought the best out of r. standard de liège as the belgian champions began their group c campaign with the notable scalp of sevilla fc.
standard threat standard caught the eye during their european encounters against premier league clubs liverpool fc and everton fc earlier this season and followed that up by downing 2006 and 2007 uefa cup winners sevilla thanks to dieudonné mbokani's first-half strike. lászló bölöni's side were the more threatening throughout the opening period, and stepped up the pressure with the interval approaching before mbokani broke through on 38 minutes.
mbokani opener andrés palop's only meaningful save before then had come early on when he pounced on ıgor de camargo's header from a corner, but the sevilla captain was powerless to stop standard taking the lead. some determined tackling from the home team in midfield robbed sevilla of possession and mbokani took full advantage to race through the heart of the spanish club's defence before coolly slotting home.
sevilla struggle the goal seemed to set sevilla back on their heels as the hosts created two more decent chances before the interval, with axel witsel firing just wide and de camargo being denied by palop. sevilla, missing a number of key players, had produced little going forward in the first period but they gave home goalkeeper rorys aragon espinoza more problems after the restart.
crucial saves luis fabiano and enzo maresca brought crucial stops out of espinoza, while jesús navas saw his looping overhead kick headed off the line after espinoza had ventured out of his goal. standard's rearguard could not be breached, though, and they had opportunities to increase their advantage with palop needing to dive full-length to tip away milan jovanović's curling free-kick. the result means standard join uc sampdoria, vfb stuttgart and sevilla on three points at the group c summit, with the liege outfit having played a game less than their german and spanish rivals.
