Indeed, Ruben Amorim's side have scraped together just three points from their first four fixtures and now face a daunting uphill battle following Thursday's woeful display at San Siro if they are to prevent an embarrassing early exit from the competition.

The Hungarian champions' margin of victory rather flattered the hosts; had they displayed greater ruthlessness before the break, the visitors could easily have run riot at one of European football's most celebrated cathedrals.

Ferencvaros' Haitian striker Lenny Joseph might have walked away with an even richer reward. Despite sealing the famous result with a clinical brace, he squandered three gilt-edged opportunities in the first half, repeatedly denied by teenage shot-stopper Lorenzo Torriani.

That despair at San Siro stood in sharp relief to Juventus, who climbed into fifth spot on ten points. Despite weathering late pressure, the Bianconeri held on for a 2-1 victory over an AZ Alkmaar outfit left chasing shadows by an inspired Randal Kolo Muani.

The French international led the line with commanding authority, taking his European tally to three goals for the campaign. Kolo Muani underlined both his sharp instinct and vision, cleverly unpicking the Dutch defence to tee up Teun Koopmeiners for the opening goal.

Yet maximum points in the Netherlands were still not enough to haul Luciano Spalletti's men level with Benfica, Bournemouth and Ferencvaros, who stand alone as the only three clubs preserving flawless, 100% records.

Benfica simply remained in cruise control. Building on emphatic 4-1 and 1-4 victories over Celtic and Omonia, the Portuguese powerhouses eased past Polish champions Lech Poznan 3-1 through strikes from Rafa Silva, Argentine talent Gianluca Prestianni and Ukrainian orchestrator Georgiy Sudakov.

Bournemouth salvage English pride

AFC Bournemouth also continued their seemingly unstoppable momentum, chalking up a fourth straight win with a resolute 3-1 triumph away to Sparta Prague. The Czech hosts had seized the lead courtesy of a piece of sheer individual brilliance from Ebrima Singateh, though his wonder-strike was ultimately rendered academic.

The Gambian forward produced an early strong case for goal of the tournament, bursting into the penalty area with a powerful run, the Sparta player even evaded as many as three opponents with breathtaking footwork and an elite level of skill.

Sparta's lead was short-lived. A decisive turning point arrived just three minutes later, in the 38th minute, when Norwegian defender Tobias Guddal was shown a straight red card. Bournemouth showed no mercy after the interval, turning the game on its head through American midfielder Tyler Adams and Brazilian pair Evanilson and Rayan.

Reigning Conference League winners Crystal Palace could not match their Premier League counterparts, relying on an 89th-minute equaliser from Japanese midfielder Daichi Kamada to salvage a tense 1-1 draw at home to Hoffenheim.

England's third representative fared considerably worse. Sunderland crashed to a chastening 2-0 defeat at the Stadium of Light against Dinamo Zagreb, who struck twice before the interval through Luka Stojkovic and tournament top scorer Dion Beljo, who took his personal tally to four goals.

Marseille shock Bayer Leverkusen to reignite campaign

It was an altogether more jubilant evening for Olympique Marseille. Having arrived on German soil off the back of three consecutive defeats, Bruno Genesio's charges finally opened their account in sensational style thanks to a thunderous 77th-minute strike from Algerian attacker Amine Gouiri.

The result provides vital oxygen for the Ligue 1 side. Having endured miserable losses against Besiktas, Olympiacos and Sturm Graz, Marseille reignited their Europa League journey in the most improbable setting—bringing a halt to a previously irrepressible Bayer Leverkusen team that had swept all before them.