Olympique de Marseille's French forward Dimitri Payet (2R) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the UEFA Europa League football match between Marseille and Atletic Bilbao at the "Velodrome" stadium in Marseille. Pic/AFP

Olympique Marseille took a big step toward qualifying for the Europa League quarterfinals with a 3-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of their round of 16 tie here. Thursday's match had barely begun when Athletic's Susaeta gave away the ball in midfield, spurring a Marseille attack that resulted in a goal by Lucas Ocampos to make it 1-0 for the hosts just 44 seconds after the opening whistle, reports Efe news agency.