Salzburg had the opening chance of the game inside 10 minutes, with Mads Bidstrup’s first-time effort on the turn being tipped past the post by Marco Bizot. From the resulting corner, the hosts thought they took the lead when Julien Le Cardinal’s backward header deflected in off teammate Edimilson Fernandes, but the own goal was ruled out for offside.
Salzburg continued to probe as Amar Dedic and Karim Konaté both shot narrowly wide, but they would find themselves behind before the break.
Abdallah Sima – who was the match-winner for Brest on matchday one – netted his team’s first-ever European away goal against the run of play, coolly sliding the ball past Janis Blaswich after being expertly found by Ludovic Ajorque with an outside-the-foot pass.
For all Salzburg’s early dominance, the visitors could have doubled their advantage when Sima curled just wide after another counter before Bidstrup missed a great opportunity to equalise, producing a tame effort despite being in acres of space in the box.
Salzburg continued to dominate in the second half, with Oscar Gloukh being denied from close range by Bizot after the goalkeeper made a poor clearance. The shot-stopper then stuck out his leg to save from Dedic after the left-back cut inside and fired towards goal.
Remarkably, Brest then struck again on the break, as this time Mahdi Camara swept into the far corner following some lovely build-up play from substitute Mama Balde.
As if things could not get better for the French side, Sima secured his brace and a third for Brest when he pounced on a rebound quickly after Hugo Magnetti’s original shot was saved.
Their tails were up at this point, and substitute Mathias Pereira Lage only needed a few seconds to make an immediate impact, beautifully placing a first-time effort into the bottom corner from the edge of the area. Brest now boast maximum points in their debut European campaign, while Salzburg’s winless UCL run now worryingly extends to seven games.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Abdallah Sima (Brest)
