At Leverkusen, Marseille get off the mark thanks to Gouiri and a defence finally made of sterner stuff

On 5 November, Olympique de Marseille beat Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 at the BayArena in the fourth round of the Europa League. Amine Gouiri scored in the 77th minute, capping an evening in which OM first held firm, then made better use of an opening offered by their opponents. For Bruno Genesio’s team, this first European win of the season ends a run of three consecutive defeats in the competition and makes their bid for a play-off place credible again. It does not, however, transform Marseille’s campaign: at the end of the round, the club remain 31st, on three points, according to Sportschau.

A win that changes the equation, but not yet the situation

Before this trip, Marseille had taken no points from their first three matches: defeats against Beşiktaş, Olympiacos and Sturm Graz. The win in Germany ends that run and lifts them from 34th to 31st place. 24th place, the last qualifying spot for the play-offs, was only one point away after the round, reports TV5MONDE, based on an AFP report. The margin therefore remains tiny: a favourable result brings OM closer to the qualifying places, but leaves them no room for error from here on.

The outlook is nevertheless less bleak than it was before kick-off. The fixture list still includes home matches against Levski Sofia on 26 November and Celta Vigo on 10 December, followed by the final two matchdays in January, notes the UEFA fixture list. Those home games give Marseille opportunities to turn this response into a run of points. But one isolated win is not enough to show that their European form is sustainable.

Gouiri turned a match that had long been tight

At first, the match offered little space to either attack. Marseille looked dangerous early on: in the 7th minute, Gouiri found himself one-on-one with Mark Flekken, who won the duel. Bayer then grew into the game without applying sustained pressure; a deflected Miguel Gutiérrez shot, in particular, struck the crossbar before the break. Chances were scarce and play was often concentrated in midfield, as described in the WDR/Sportschau match report.

After the break, Marseille also created shooting opportunities for Igor Paixão, Gouiri and then Geoffrey Kondogbia. The turning point came in the 77th minute: Gouiri won the ball in the opposition half, beat a defender and finished with a curling shot into the far side of the goal. The Get French Football News report highlights his ability to turn a transition into a decisive chance. This is not proof that Marseille dominated the whole match, but rather an individual piece of play that rewarded a team which stayed in the contest.

Defensive discipline mattered as much as the goal

Marseille also won by holding on to their lead in the closing minutes. Leverkusen pressed after the goal and created chances from set pieces; Edmond Tapsoba, in particular, sent a header narrowly wide before the Marseille goalkeeper intervened to keep out a final effort from Patrik Schick. The Ouest-France match summary confirms this pressured finish and the final score of 1-0.

The decision not to take unnecessary risks proved decisive: after going behind, Marseille did not try to answer every burst forward with an open attack. That game management does not erase the spells when Bayer were able to establish themselves in the opposition half, but it highlights an important contrast with the first three matchdays: this time, OM maintained a compact enough shape to stop their opponents turning their periods of pressure into a goal. That is a more concrete gain than a simple boost in confidence, even if it still needs to be tested over several matches.

The German defeat also needs context

For Leverkusen, the defeat ends a perfect start to this league phase: the club had won their first three matches and remain on nine points. There is no collapse, then; the team remain well placed in the race for direct qualification, but missed the chance to strengthen their position. N-tv reports comments from club executive Simon Rolfes, who acknowledged that the performance was insufficient and that the passing lacked quality. This should caution against presenting the result as an unqualified display of Marseille’s superiority: the German side also paid for a lack of inspiration and a defensive mistake in the build-up to the goal.

The immediate context for the two teams was also different. According to TV5MONDE, Marseille arrived on the back of four consecutive league wins and had limited rotation to field a competitive side. Bayer, meanwhile, had won all three of their European matches before this game. These factors add weight to Marseille’s result, without justifying extrapolations about the season as a whole: domestic and European form are not the same, and Leverkusen retain a considerable points advantage over OM in this phase.

Two matches to confirm the response

Marseille’s next test comes as soon as Sunday 8 November, away to Lens, before their return to European action against Levski Sofia on 26 November, according to the fixture lists compiled by WDR and UEFA. The challenge will be to maintain their momentum without mistaking a valuable win for qualification secured. Marseille have shown they can defend with discipline and punish a mistake, but they now need to keep picking up points, particularly at home.

The win in Leverkusen is therefore a turning point in their campaign, not a conclusion. Gouiri produced the decisive moment; Marseille’s defensive unit made the result possible by weathering the opposition’s pressure. If OM are to turn this 1-0 into a genuine revival, their next two European matches will need to confirm that this resilience and efficiency can be repeated, rather than being the product of just one successful evening.