Marseille may have secured back-to-back wins in Ligue 1, but their calamitous European fortunes looked set to continue early on in Austria. After a low-key opening, Nouhoum Kamissoko was caught in possession in his own third and heavily punished, as Sturm’s teenage starlet Luca Weinhandl swept the ball into Oumar Diakite, who made no mistake with a first-time finish for his sixth goal in four appearances.
Bruno Genesio’s men were fortunate not to fall two behind at the half-hour mark too, but Jacob Hodl’s connection with Simon Seidl’s cutback was far from clean and allowed Jeffrey de Lange to make the save.
The visitors’ sloppiness in possession at the back was a theme throughout the first half, and it ought to have cost them a second goal.
However, after pouncing on a loose ball, Seidl’s audacious lob came back off the crossbar. Marseille failed to register a single shot on target before half-time, though they too were denied by the woodwork, with the post thwarting Keyliane Abdallah after he had broken free down the right.
Given that Sturm had conceded just twice in their previous seven major European home games, it was no surprise to see Genesio turn to his bench for inspiration at the interval. Angel Gomes and Neal Maupay were hauled off, with replacement Igor Paixao particularly influential as Marseille upped the ante.
Translating their improvement into clear-cut chances remained a challenge, though, with Abdallah’s free header - which was directed wide from a good position - the closest they came in the opening 20 minutes of the second period. At the other end, Sturm remained a threat despite losing goalscorer Diakite at the break, and only another impressive De Lange save prevented Belmin Beganovic from doubling the hosts’ lead.
Marseille’s first shot on target of the evening finally arrived after 70 minutes, though Paixao’s curler from outside the box was comfortably stopped by Ammar Helac. With time running out, the visitors’ lack of belief was evident, and they ultimately failed to mount a realistic comeback effort.
As a result, the pressure on Genesio increases, with his side still pointless towards the foot of the table, while Sturm secure their first win at home against a French side in major European competition since 1999/00.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Luca Weinhandl (Sturm Graz)