In Istanbul, where the noise around a European night can quickly become a verdict, Marseille’s early-season troubles deepened into a 4-1 Europa League defeat against Besiktas. The scale of the loss has placed further pressure on coach Bruno Genesio, whose side now head towards a Vélodrome meeting with Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday after four straight defeats.
Besiktas, led by Vincenzo Italiano, struck first after 15 minutes when Ilhan Fakili sent a low angled effort beyond the Marseille goalkeeper. The visitors found a response through 20-year-old academy product Keyliane Abdallah, but the contest unravelled badly after the interval amid a deafening atmosphere in the Turkish capital.
Vaclav Cerny restored Besiktas’ advantage in the 56th minute, and Amir Murillo added another only three minutes later as Marseille lost their footing. Ernest Poku completed the scoring in the 81st minute to leave the French club with a heavy opening-night reverse in the Europa League league phase.
Dusan Vlahovic, signed by Besiktas after leaving Juventus as a free agent, played the entire match without finding the net. His new side nevertheless had more than enough to expose a Marseille team short of confidence and stability.
The defeat follows three consecutive Ligue 1 losses, a sequence that has left Olympique 13th in the table with three points. Genesio’s immediate challenge is the visit of PSG in the final match of Ligue 1’s fifth round, staged at the Vélodrome just three days after the Istanbul setback.
Marseille return to European duty on 15 October, when Olympiacos, coached by Imanol Alguacil, travel to the Mediterranean coast for the second round of league-phase fixtures.
