Besiktas thrash Marseille, deepening the French club's crisis

Besiktas made a strong start and thrashed Marseille 4-1 in the first match of the Europa League league phase for both teams. The two sides went into halftime level at 1-1, but in the second half the Turkish side gave their opponents no chance, scoring three unanswered goals.

Besiktas took the lead as early as the 15th minute, when a well-worked passing move set up a forward who beat the visiting goalkeeper with a composed finish for 1-0. However, Besiktas got a bit carried away pushing forward and were caught out roughly fifteen minutes later, as Marseille equalized on the counterattack to make it 1-1.

About ten minutes into the second half, Besiktas retook the lead through a well-placed curling finish into the corner, making it 2-1. Just three minutes later, the hosts effectively broke their opponents' resistance with a well-worked corner routine finished off with a header for 3-1. In the 68th minute, the home side nearly extended their lead further, but a shot from inside the box came off the crossbar.

Besiktas added a fourth goal in the 81st minute, as a substitute forward capitalized on a well-placed assist to beat the goalkeeper one-on-one and seal the 4-1 final score. With this result, the Turkish side recorded their fourth consecutive win across all competitions, while Marseille suffered their fourth straight defeat in all competitions.