Associated Press

The Brazilian also scored in Standard's 1-0 win over Partizan Belgrade last week.

U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu headed in a corner kick 12 minutes later and Jovanovic finished off a flowing move two minutes before half time to put the game beyond doubt.

The result left Standard with a perfect nine points from three games, leading Sevilla by three points. Sampdoria and Stuttgart have four points.

Despite the loss, Sampdoria can still advance if it beats Sevilla in the last group C game in two weeks' time. Sevilla beat Partizan Belgrade 3-0 Wednesday. Three clubs advance from the five-team group.

"We were the small team coming into the group and now we advance," said coach Laszlo Boloni.

Jovanovic had another great match with at least two dozen scouts from across Europe in the stands. He refused to say whether he would leave Standard during the winter transfer window.

Even though Standard played well, Sampdoria played very un-Italian defense, making tactical errors throughout the match.

The goals assured Standard Liege of advancing in a UEFA competition beyond the New Year, its best result in European competition in 26 years.

The result heaped further trouble on Sampdoria, which is also struggling in 15th place in Serie A.

Standard Liege needed just a draw to guarantee passage but immediately went looking for an early goal against a Sampdoria team without many of its top players, including forward Antonio Cassano. Sampdoria needed a victory to advance with a game in hand but rarely showed much offensive desire.