Fenerbahçe defeated Sturm Graz 2-0 in the first leg of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. Anderson Talisca and Mason Greenwood scored in the match played in Istanbul on 5 August 2026. The Turkish side also led 2-0 at half-time and will take that score into the return leg in Graz on 11 August.
Talisca opened the scoring
Fenerbahçe started with Mert Günok; Nélson Semedo, Milan Škriniar, Nathan Aké and Jayden Oosterwolde; N’Golo Kanté and Matteo Guendouzi; Mason Greenwood, Marco Asensio and Kerem Aktürkoğlu; and Anderson Talisca. FotMob listed Fenerbahçe in a 4-2-3-1 formation and Sturm Graz in a 4-4-2 formation.
The opening goal arrived in the 10th minute. Talisca received Kerem Aktürkoğlu’s pass from the left inside the penalty area and scored with a powerful finish. Sturm Graz’s official match report described the move as a multi-pass attack. Jon Gorenc Stanković was shown a yellow card in the 21st minute.
Jayden Oosterwolde was forced off through injury in the 30th minute and Archie Brown replaced him. Sturm produced one of its first-half opportunities two minutes later, when Seedy Jatta could not direct Jacob Hödl’s cross toward goal. In the 37th minute, Kerem delivered the ball into the area after a Guendouzi pass, but the visiting defence intervened.
Greenwood scored before the interval
Fenerbahçe added a second goal near the end of the first half. Following a short corner, Marco Asensio passed to Mason Greenwood outside the penalty area. Greenwood scored from distance in the 45th minute to make it 2-0. Both goals were therefore recorded before the interval, and the teams went into the dressing rooms with the same score.
Sturm searched for a response after half-time
The visitors introduced Axel Kayombo for Szymon Włodarczyk at the break. According to Sturm Graz’s official report, the Austrian side tried to press higher in the second half. Jatta had a shot blocked by Škriniar for a corner in the 55th minute, and no Sturm player was able to make the decisive contact from the resulting delivery.
Fenerbahçe had a sequence of three attempts in the 58th minute. Daniil Khudyakov saved Kerem’s one-on-one effort and then stopped Talisca’s follow-up, before Kerem headed wide. The assistant referee subsequently raised the offside flag. Jürgen Heil also received a yellow card in the same minute.
Sturm made three substitutions in the 64th minute, bringing on Nelson Weiper, Gizo Mamageishvili and Ryan Fosso. Fenerbahçe replaced Greenwood and Asensio with Fred and İrfan Can Kahveci in the 69th and 70th minutes. Weiper sent an attempt narrowly wide in the 71st minute. Sturm’s report also noted that Weiper narrowly failed to connect with Kayombo’s pass across goal during a later attack.
Mert Müldür and Oğuz Aydın replaced Semedo and Kerem in the 85th minute. Sturm’s official report stated that goalkeeper Khudyakov made two strong saves and that Jon Gorenc Stanković produced a late intervention close to goal. No further goal was scored, and the match finished 2-0.
The match in numbers
FotMob recorded 72 percent possession for Fenerbahçe and 28 percent for Sturm Graz. Total shots were 17-5, expected goals were 1.37-0.16, and touches in the opposition penalty area were 22-10 in Fenerbahçe’s favour. Talisca’s goal was assisted by Kerem Aktürkoğlu, while Marco Asensio supplied the pass for Greenwood’s goal.
No Fenerbahçe player received a yellow card. Stanković, Heil and Kayombo were booked for Sturm Graz. The official line-up record shows that both teams used five substitutions during the match.
Return leg on 11 August
The second leg will be played in Graz on Tuesday, 11 August 2026. Fenerbahçe will begin that match with the 2-0 result from the first leg. Cumhuriyet reported that the winner of the Fenerbahçe-Sturm Graz tie will face the winner of Lyon versus Sparta Prague in the Champions League play-off round.
