Nottingham Forest loanees first goal in Belgium not enough to earn Standard Liege first play-off win

For Standard Liege, the end of the 2023/2024 season cannot come soon enough. The club are yet to win a single game in the play-offs, drawing 1-1 at home to Sint-Truiden on Saturday afternoon. Ryoya Ogawa had given the away side an early lead, before on loan Nottingham Forest defender Jonathan Panzo grabbed his first goal for the club just after the hour mark.

For Standard, these play-offs have been unwelcome. They had little chance of making it into top spot and a chance of European football, and their opening game 5-1 defeat to Gent signalled that perhaps the squad was ready to end the season as soon as possible. They have since recovered to draw their last five matches, but they remain second bottom in the group.

For a club that has a proud history of competing for titles and playing in European football, the frustration is clear amongst the fanbase. They are just hopeful that Ivan Leko is given a chance to completely refresh a playing squad that has disappointed this season. Yet with 777 in charge of the finances, there is little expectation that this will be the case.