Fenerbahçe take a firm hold of their UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie following a dominant 2-0 victory over Austrian side Sturm Graz at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul. First-half strikes from Anderson Talisca and Mason Greenwood sealed the home win, leaving the Turkish hosts well-positioned to advance ahead of next week’s second leg.
Driven on by a vocal home crowd, İsmail Kartal’s side established early control and took the lead inside ten minutes. Kerem Aktürkoğlu provided the setup, laying the ball off for **Talisca** to blast an unstoppable shot past Sturm Graz goalkeeper Daniil Khudyakov in the ninth minute.
Fenerbahçe maintained high pressure throughout the opening half, though they suffered an unexpected defensive setback when Jayden Oosterwolde was forced off due to injury, replaced by Archie Brown. Sturm Graz briefly threatened to capitalize when Szymon Włodarczyk picked out Seedy Jatta in the box, but the striker narrowly missed connecting on the delivery.
The home side doubled their lead right on the stroke of half-time. Following a short corner routine involving Marco Asensio, **Mason Greenwood** gathered the ball outside the penalty area and fired a low, curling drive into the bottom corner to open his account for the club.
Sturm Graz displayed greater urgency early in the second half, with Jatta making a promising run into the penalty box, only to be stopped by a cleanly timed tackle from Fenerbahçe captain Milan Škriniar.
Fenerbahçe quickly regained control and pushed for a third goal. Talisca and Aktürkoğlu continued to cause problems for the visitors’ defense, with Khudyakov turning away a goalbound shot from Talisca before Aktürkoğlu headed the rebound onto the roof of the net. Khudyakov was called into action again shortly after, producing a brilliant reflex save to deny Talisca’s flicked header from a Škriniar corner.
Despite late pressure and additional efforts from substitute İrfan Can Kahveci, Sturm Graz held the line to restrict the margin to two goals. Fenerbahçe carry a comfortable 2-0 lead to Austria for the return fixture on Tuesday, August 11, with the aggregate winner moving one step closer to the Champions League main draw.
