After being dominated in Turkey throughout last week’s first-leg encounter, Sturm Graz needed to win by at least two clear goals to avoid elimination within the 90 minutes – something they hadn’t done in eight European home games prior to tonight.
However, it was Talisca who threatened first, with the Brazilian almost making it four goals in as many UCL battles this term, only for a good stop from Daniil Khudyakov to prevent the ball from going into the bottom-left corner.
The Brazilian might have done better from the edge of the box on 26 minutes, but could only hit a first-time shot straight at Khudyakov.
That was Sturm’s cue to rally, and after Simon Seidl headed over and had a shot blocked either side of the half-hour mark, Jon Gorenc Stankovic saw a header near the penalty spot thwarted by Mert Gunok.
It was an encouraging end to the first half for the Austrians, but with Fenerbahce conceding no more than one goal in each of their last five European away games, Sturm remained on the brink.
For Fenerbahce, the break came at the ideal time, and they were content to keep their hosts chasing the ball in the early second-half minutes, with a poor shot off target from Talisca more or less summarising the first hour of play.
Triple changes from both benches brought about hope of an uptick in tempo, and right on cue, Talisca was given a golden chance to keep his 100% UCL scoring record alive when Petar Petrovic fouled him inside the box. The Brazilian stepped up and fired in low past Khudyakov from 12 yards, all but sealing progress for his side.
The rest of the evening was a formality, though it might have been given some extra spice had Jacob Hodl not seen a shot inside the box blocked wide with 15 minutes to play.
From there, Sturm’s play became all the more desperate, and after Kerem Akturkoğlu was denied late on by an excellent save at close range, Fenerbahce held out for their first away clean sheet in UCL qualifying since 2022.
The Yellow Canaries’ last remaining barrier to a first UCL main draw appearance in 18 years – Lyon or Sparta Prague – will be determined later tonight.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Talisca (Fenerbahce)
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