Sale overcame a second-half Ospreys fightback to claim victory in the Heineken Champions Cup opening round in Swansea.
Tries from Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Ewan Ashman and Jean-Luc du Preez gave Sale a 21-3 half-time lead.
Ospreys responded with a Luke Morgan try as Lood de Jager and Ben Curry were shown yellow cards.
Sale secured victory despite not scoring any second-half points, with England flanker Tom Curry outstanding.
The defeat came at the end of a difficult week for Ospreys after hooker Ifan Phillips suffered life-changing injuries in a motorcycle collision which has cut short his car...