Fenerbahçe advances to Europa League playoffs
Fenerbahçe eliminated Sturm Graz 3-2 on aggregate in the two sides' UEFA Europa League third qualifying round match in Istanbul on Thursday.
- Sports
- Compiled from news agencies
- Published Date: 12:00 | 04 August 2017
- Modified Date: 12:12 | 04 August 2017
Istanbul heavyweights Fenerbahçe advanced to the playoffs in the UEFA Europa League late Thursday, after drawing 1-1 with Austria's Sturm Graz at the Şükrü Saraçoğlu Stadium.
Fenerbahçe found the first goal of the match in 32nd minute, when two new signings connected swiftly to deliver a header. Mathieu Valbuena assisted with the cross to Nabil Dirar who put Fenerbahçe 1-0 up.
The second half saw a much more resilient Sturm Graz side as the Austrian club equalized in the 66th minute. Philipp Huspek calmly finished with a low driven shot, beating goalkeeper Volkan Demirel.
Fenerbahçe held on for the remainder of the match, moving on to the play-off round.
In the first match, the Yellow Canaries had defeated the Austrians 2-1. With that result, Fenerbahçe won 3-2 on aggregate.
The play-off draw will be held on Friday at 1100GMT.