Captain Samuel Bastien was the hero as Standard Liege recorded a 1-0 win over Cercle Brugge in Saturday’s Belgian topflight opener.
The 23-year-old’s second-half strike proved the difference between both teams in the keenly contested encounter at Stade Maurice Dufrasne.
Having missed out of a place in Europe owing to the cancellation of the Belgian 2019-20 season owing to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Reds entered the new term with the ambition of making an appreciable impact.
Against Paul Clement’s men, they put up a solid display, albeit, the first half ended 0-0.
In the second half, they stepped up their game and deservedly went ahead in the 55th minute courtesy of Bastien strike after firing past goalkeeper Warleson thanks to an assist from Maxime Lestienne.