Fenerbahçe secures advantage in 7-goal thriller

Our representative Fenerbahçe faced Swiss side Lugano in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round.

The match, played at Stockthorn Arena, began with a shock goal. Ayman El Wafi headed in a cross from Anto Grgic in the 4th minute to put Lugano ahead 1-0.

Fenerbahçe came very close to scoring in the 36th minute. Sebastian Szymanski's shot hit the post and rebounded back into play.

The yellow-navy team won a penalty in the final moments of the first half. Dusan Tadic went down after a harsh challenge in the penalty area, and the referee pointed to the spot.

Edin Dzeko stepped up to the ball and, despite the goalkeeper's touch, found the back of the net to set the score for the first half: 1-1.

The second half began with a goal. Dzeko scored from a Dusan Tadic pass with a first-time strike to make it 2-1.

Lugano leveled the match once again in the 64th minute with a goal from Uran Bislimi.

Fenerbahçe's response to this goal was swift. The star of the night, Edin Dzeko, took the stage once again in the 67th minute to put his team back in the lead.

Our representative extended the lead to two goals with a strike in the 73rd minute from Ferdi Kadıoğlu, who entered the game in the second half.

Lugano brought the score to 4-3 with a goal from Milton Valenzuela in the 90+4th minute, and the match ended with this scoreline.

Emerging victorious with a 4-3 score, Fenerbahçe gained a significant advantage for the next round ahead of the return leg.

The return leg of this match will be played in Istanbul on Tuesday, July 30.

Referees: Tiago Martins, Bruno Jesus, Hugo Ribeiro

Lugano FC: Saipi, Zanotti, Papadopoulos, El Wafi, Valenzuela, Grgic (Belhaj Mahmoud

80th min), Doumbia, Cimignani (Mai 61st min), Bislimi (Correia 71st min), Bottani (Mahou 72nd min), Aliseda (Przybylko 72nd min)

Substitutes: Osigwe, Mina, Brault-Guillard, Hajdari, Macek, Mahou, Marques, Ryter

Head Coach: Mattia Croci-Torti

Fenerbahçe: Livakovic, Osayi Samuel (Mert Müldür, 69'), Çağlar Söyüncü, Djiku, Oosterwolde, Fred (Mert Hakan Yandaş, 86'), Krunic, Tadic (Ferdi Kadıoğlu, 69'), Szymanski, Kent (İrfan Can Kahveci, 68'), Dzeko (Cenk Tosun, 80')

Substitutes: Ertuğrul Çetin, İsmail Yüksek, Bartuğ Elmaz, Becao, Oğuz Aydın, Yiğit Efe Demir, Yusuf Akçiçek

Head Coach: Jose Mourinho

Goals: El Wafi (4'), Uran Bislimi (64'), Valenzuela (90+4') (Lugano FC); Edin Dzeko (45+1' Pen., 46', 67'), Ferdi Kadıoğlu (73') (Fenerbahçe)

Yellow Cards: El Wafi, Papadopoulos, Bottani, Grgic, Zanotti (Lugano FC); Çağlar Söyüncü, Dusan Tadic, Oosterwolde (Fenerbahçe)