Europa League: Marseille end Bayer Leverkusen’s perfect start as Benfica remain top

Olympique Marseille ended Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten start to the UEFA Europa League league phase with a 1-0 victory at the BayArena on Thursday.

Amine Gouiri scored the decisive goal in the 77th minute, giving Marseille their first win of the competition and leaving Leverkusen seventh in the standings on nine points. Marseille moved up to 31st with three points.

Marseille began the match with greater purpose and should have taken the lead early on. Gouiri controlled a long pass inside the penalty area, escaped his marker and worked an opening, but Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Mark Flekken kept out his effort.

Leverkusen gradually established more possession and territory as the first half went on, although the hosts struggled to create clear opportunities. Their best chance came in the 42nd minute, when Miguel Gutierrez’s deflected shot struck the crossbar. Jarell Quansah then sent an effort narrowly wide before the interval.

The home side resumed with increased attacking intent, but Patrik Schick fired well over the bar in the 54th minute. Marseille responded when Igor Paixao narrowly missed with a long-range effort, before Flekken again denied Gouiri. Geoffrey Kondogbia also went close, shooting just wide from distance.

Leverkusen’s decisive mistake came near the halfway line. After possession was lost, Gouiri drove forward into the space, cut inside Edmond Tapsoba and curled a precise finish into the far corner beyond Flekken.

Tapsoba almost made amends immediately, heading narrowly wide from a corner. Leverkusen applied further pressure through a series of set pieces, but could not find an equaliser.

Benfica retained top spot with a 3-1 victory against Lech Poznan, extending their perfect record to four matches. Bournemouth stayed second after a 3-1 win over Sparta Prague, while Ferencvaros moved on with a 2-0 victory against AC Milan.

Union Saint-Gilloise climbed to fourth after winning 2-1 at Celta Vigo. Juventus rose to fifth following a 2-1 victory over AZ Alkmaar.

Anderlecht defeated Salzburg 2-0, GNK Dinamo won 2-0 away to Sunderland and NEC Nijmegen beat Omonia 3-1.

Celtic claimed a narrow 3-2 win against Besiktas, while Celje won 3-2 at Sturm Graz and Viktoria Plzen secured a 1-0 victory at Lillestrom.

Levski Sofia beat Jagiellonia 1-0 and OFI Crete defeated Hapoel Beer-Sheva 2-0. Torreense overcame Ararat-Armenia 3-2, while Real Sociedad drew 1-1 with Lyon and Crystal Palace also drew 1-1 with Hoffenheim.