Beşiktaş vs Marseille Review: Why Oh Hyeon-gyu Couldn’t Smile After a 4-1 Win

Sports
Beşiktaş vs Marseille Review: Why Oh Hyeon-gyu Couldn’t Smile After a 4-1 Rout
September 18, 2026 | About 4 min read | Daegu

1. A 4-1 scoreline under the lights in Istanbul
In the early hours of September 18 Korea time, Tüpraş Stadium in Istanbul, Türkiye was buzzing.
In Matchday 1 of the 2026-27 UEFA Europa League league phase, Beşiktaş beat French powerhouse Marseille 4-1.
It was exactly the kind of statement win you want in your opening game.
Before kickoff, this one felt pretty even on paper.
Marseille came in as one of the stronger sides from Ligue 1, while Beşiktaş had reached the main stage through qualifying.
But once the match started, the home side looked far more dangerous going forward.
Italian referee Andrea Colombo was in charge.
Injuries interrupted the flow several times for both teams, and it turned into the kind of 90 minutes where both managers ended up using every substitution available.
The Europa League is using the same format again this season, with 36 teams grouped into a single league table and each club playing eight matches in the league phase.
That made the three points from Matchday 1, plus a +3 goal difference, a very valuable start.
In a tightly packed standings race, one big early win like this can end up deciding who finishes in the top eight and advances directly.

2. The match was decided in three minutes
The opener came in the 15th minute of the first half.
İlhan Fakılı broke the deadlock and sent the home crowd into a frenzy.
But in the 29th minute, Kélyann Abdallah hit back for Marseille, and the first half ended 1-1.
The game completely turned after the break.
In the 56th minute, Václav Černý scored the go-ahead goal, and just three minutes later, Amir Murillo added another to all but put the game away.
In the space of only three minutes, the score flipped from 1-1 to 3-1.
Riding that momentum, Beşiktaş found a fourth in the 81st minute through Ernest Poku.
Fakılı also had a shot come off the post, so honestly, it wouldn’t have been surprising if the margin had grown even wider.

3. The No. 9 came on in the 82nd minute and had 13 minutes to work with
Oh Hyeon-gyu stepped onto the pitch in the 82nd minute.
He replaced Junior Olaitan and logged about 13 minutes including five minutes of stoppage time.
By then, the match was already leaning heavily at 4-1.
And the numbers were brutally simple.
Zero shots, three passes.
He received a 6.5 rating from a football stats outlet, tied with Salih Özcan for the lowest mark on the team.
To be fair, that number also feels harsh when you consider he only had 13 minutes and entered after the result was basically settled.
There were still moments when he worked hard and pressed from the front.
But for a striker, ratings are usually judged by the same things in the end: shots and goals.
And honestly, this kind of scene is starting to feel familiar.
In an earlier match, a rival attacker scored a hat trick in a 6-2 win, while Oh Hyeon-gyu made his third straight substitute appearance.
So the pattern is becoming hard to ignore: the team keeps winning, but his minutes keep shrinking.

4. The arrival of Vlahović changed everything
Oh Hyeon-gyu joined Beşiktaş in February 2026 after leaving Genk in Belgium.
At the time, the transfer fee was reported at around $17,617,600, which made it the third-highest fee in club history.
He was even handed the No. 9 shirt, the number most associated with a starting striker.
But once summer passed, the picture changed.
That was when Dušan Vlahović, formerly of Juventus, pulled on a Beşiktaş shirt.
Vlahović started up front in this match, while Oh Hyeon-gyu had to watch from the bench.
This season, Oh Hyeon-gyu did score his first goal in his sixth appearance and also won a penalty.
So there have definitely been moments when he made his presence felt.
Even so, the recent trend has continued to push him into a substitute role.

5. Hoffenheim on October 16, and the time still left
Beşiktaş’s next Europa League opponent is Hoffenheim of Germany.
The away match is set for October 16, and they’ll be chasing a second straight win.
With the league phase stretching over a long schedule, rotation chances should come.
Personally, this feels like the cruelest kind of stretch for a player.
It’s not always that you’re out because you’ve been poor. Sometimes the name ahead of you is just too big to dislodge.
And honestly, you’ve probably seen the same thing happen in workplaces far beyond football.
That’s why those 13 minutes feel heavier than they look.
The less time you get, the more one shot or one run in behind can mean everything.
In the next match, I’d love to see Oh Hyeon-gyu make that short window count on the stat sheet.

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