Istanbul: Turkish side Fenerbahçe were held to a draw by French club Olympique Lyonnais in the Champions League qualifying play-off. A 1-1 draw was the outcome of the match between Fenerbahçe and their French visitors, played at the Çobanbey Stadium in Istanbul, in the first leg of the Champions League playoff.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the tie remains undecided until the second leg, scheduled for Wednesday, August 26, at the Groupama Stadium, Lyon’s home ground. The match was characterized by its competitiveness and evenness between the two teams, with Fenerbahçe having a slight advantage at times, while Lyon posed a clear threat to the home side’s goal.

The first dangerous opportunity came in the ninth minute when Matteo Guendouzi sent a cross into the penalty area, which was met by Kosovar striker Vedat Muriqi with a header, but it went just wide of Lyon’s left post. The French team succeeded in opening the scoring in the 40th minute through Belgian striker Louis Openda, who headed in a pe
rfect cross from Corentin Tolisso from close range.

At the start of the second half, Fenerbahçe equalized in the 47th minute through Englishman Mason Greenwood, who fired a powerful left-footed shot from inside the penalty area after a brilliant individual effort following a pass from Turkish player Kerem Aktrkoglu. The excitement continued when the right post denied Olympique Lyonnais a second goal in the 52nd minute, deflecting a powerful shot from Openda outside the box after a pass from Tolisso.

Fenerbahçe responded with a powerful left-footed shot from Malian Nenê Djourguelis inside the penalty area, but it rebounded off the right post of Lyon’s Slovakian goalkeeper, Dominik Greff. Fenerbahçe’s Brazilian goalkeeper, Ederson, then made a brilliant save from a powerful shot by Tolisso on the edge of the penalty area before the defense cleared the ball, preserving the draw until the final whistle.