BERLIN, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- A brace from Luka Jovic and two own goals saw Eintracht Frankfurt defeat Marseille 4-0 on Thursday to record their fifth win in as many games and top Europa League Group H in the process.
From the kick-off Eintracht seized the initiative and pressed the visitors onto the back foot.
It took the hosts only two minutes to break the deadlock as Jovic capitalized on Mijat Gacinovic's build-up work to ensure a bright start in front of the home crowd.
Out-of-sorts Marseille helped the hosts double their lead after 17 minutes, as captain Luiz Gustavo scored an own goal with a return pass that caught goalkeeper Yohann Pele off guard.
The Eagles were flying high and carved out further goalscoring opportunities in the remainder of the first half.
However, Adi Hutter's men had to wait until the restart to score again, as Marseille defender Bouna Sarr deflected a square pass into the wrong goal to put the hosts 3-0 ahead in the 62nd minute.
Things got even better for Eintracht just five minutes later, as Jovic scored his second of the game after slotting home Sebastien Haller's assist.
"We had a lot of fun on the pitch today and we really wanted to seal top spot [in Group H]," said Eintracht defender Simon Falette. "But we don't have the time to sit back as we continue with our next game on Sunday."
"That was a powerful performance from us," added Eintracht teammate Danny da Costa. "We approach every game as if it were a cup final."
With their dominant performance, Eintracht sealed the top spot in Group H with a maximum 15 points from five games. Lazio sit second with 9 points, followed by Apollon Limassol (4 points) and Marseille (1 point).
Finishing top of the group means Eintracht will play the first leg of their first knockout match on home soil. By contrast, Marseille can now no longer qualify for the Europa League knockout stages, and will have to focus on domestic matters instead.
