Beşiktaş beat Marseille 4-1 in first-ever meeting at Europa League opener

A first-ever encounter

Beşiktaş hosted Olympique de Marseille on Thursday, 17 September, in the opening fixture of the UEFA Europa League's league phase. According to OneFootball, this was the first competitive meeting ever between the two clubs. The match was played at the Tüpraş Stadium in Istanbul, as reported by Mashable. Sources differ slightly on kick-off time: OneFootball lists 19:00 UK time, while Mashable states 3 p.m. ET.

Result and match statistics

According to OneFootball, Beşiktaş won the match 4-1. Statistics compiled by the BBC show the home side ahead in most categories: 54.3% possession against Marseille's 45.7%, 18 shots to 14, with 7 on target compared with Marseille's 3. Beşiktaş completed more passes (527 to 443) with higher accuracy (87.3% versus 86.2%) and had more touches inside the opposition box (31 to 22). Marseille made more clearances (17 to 16), while Beşiktaş committed fewer fouls, 10 against Marseille's 12. Both teams won three corners each, and Beşiktaş picked up two yellow cards to Marseille's one.

Contrasting form before the match

Per OneFootball, Beşiktaş arrived in strong form, having won their last three Turkish Süper Lig matches against Erzurum BB, Fenerbahçe and Yeni Çorumspor, scoring 11 goals in total. In Europa League qualifying, the club had won five of six matches and remained unbeaten and unscored-against at home in Europe across three games. Midfielder Orkun Kökçü had already scored twice in the competition this season.

Marseille, by contrast, arrived in a difficult run, having lost three consecutive Ligue 1 matches — to Rennes, Paris FC and Monaco — and having won only nine of their last 21 matches across all competitions. This was Marseille's opening match in this season's Europa League.

Streaming access

As Mashable reported, viewers outside the usual broadcast regions could watch the match for free via the Brazilian streaming service CazéTV using a VPN.