Gouiri's Stunning Solo Strike Earns Marseille First Europa League Win at Leverkusen

Amine Gouiri produced a moment of magic to hand Olympique de Marseille their first win of the Europa League season, a 1-0 victory away at Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday night. With the match locked at 0-0 and less than a quarter of an hour remaining, the Algerian forward collected the ball near the halfway line, surged past defenders, cut inside Edmond Tapsoba and curled a superb right-footed shot into the far corner beyond goalkeeper Mark Flekken, who got a hand to the ball but could not keep it out. It was a goal worthy of deciding any game, and it capped a lively personal display from Gouiri, who had already been denied by Flekken in a one-on-one early in the match. Leverkusen had arrived at the game second in the league-phase table after winning their first three matches, and the defeat was their first of the campaign — and the first goal they had conceded in the competition. Marseille, by contrast, had lost all three of their opening games, so the three points lift them off the bottom of the standings and keep their hopes of reaching the knockout play-offs alive. The hosts pressed late on but could not find a way through a disciplined Marseille defence, and the French side held on in front of 28,758 fans at BayArena. Leverkusen will look to bounce back when they visit Dinamo Zagreb on November 26, the same night Marseille host Levski Sofia.