Following a 2-0 defeat in the first leg, Sturm needed a special European night to turn the tie around. In front of 15,599 spectators in Graz-Liebenau, the Austrian champions kept the contest alive for a long time, but Anderson Talisca ultimately decided the game from the penalty spot in the 66th minute.
Fenerbahçe advanced 3-0 on aggregate and booked their place in the Champions League play-offs. Sturm, meanwhile, will continue their European campaign directly in the league phase of the Europa League.
Khudyakov keeps Sturm in the game
Unlike in the first leg in Istanbul, Sturm played with far greater courage and looked to put the Turkish defence under pressure much earlier. The first truly clear-cut chances nevertheless fell to Fenerbahçe. Talisca forced Daniil Khudyakov into a fine save after just eleven minutes, while in the 24th minute the Sturm goalkeeper also denied Kerem Aktürkoğlu after the winger had broken through one-on-one.
The hosts gradually grew into the game. Seedy Jatta headed narrowly wide, Axel Kayombo tried his luck from distance and captain Jon Gorenc Stankovic also tested Mert Günok with a header. None of those opportunities, however, were quite dangerous enough.
Sturm stepped things up again after the break. Archie Brown first had to clear a dangerous Jacob Hödl delivery at the last moment, before Arjan Malic sent an effort just past the far post.
Talisca settles it from the spot
Fabio Ingolitsch responded after an hour with a triple substitution, introducing Jürgen Heil, Nelson Weiper and Belmin Beganovic. Only a few minutes later, however, any realistic hopes of a comeback were effectively ended.
Petar Petrovic arrived late against Talisca following a Brown cross, the Brazilian went to ground and referee Alejandro Hernández pointed to the spot. Talisca took responsibility himself and converted in the 66th minute to make it 1-0. It was already his fourth goal in four Champions League qualifying appearances this season.
Sturm’s best chance to equalise fell to Beganovic in the 76th minute, but Günok made the save. At the other end, Khudyakov prevented a second Fenerbahçe goal late on by denying Aktürkoğlu once again. The Russian goalkeeper was comfortably Sturm’s standout and most assured performer on the night.
Plenty of Sturm shots, but Fenerbahçe post the higher xG
The statistics underline how much more evenly matched the return leg was compared with the meeting in Istanbul. Possession was split exactly 50-50, while Sturm registered 19 shots to Fenerbahçe’s eleven. The Austrian side also had a clear advantage in touches inside the opposition penalty area, leading 37-17.
The quality of those chances, however, tells a different story. Sturm finished with an expected-goals figure of 1.35, compared with 2.17 for Fenerbahçe. The penalty naturally accounts for a significant part of that total, but the numbers still highlight Sturm’s main issue: they regularly reached promising areas and got shots away, yet created too few genuinely high-quality opportunities.
Fenerbahçe, by contrast, needed far fewer actions inside the penalty area to pose a serious threat.
Ingolitsch: Defeat “wasn’t necessary”
Fabio Ingolitsch was understandably disappointed after the final whistle.
“It really hurts right now because I don’t think it was necessary to lose this game,” said the Sturm coach.
The 34-year-old felt his team had been particularly strong after the break before the penalty effectively took the momentum out of their attempted comeback.
Sturm captain Gorenc Stankovic also highlighted his side’s performance. The Graz club had given everything against an opponent with outstanding individual quality and could take pride in their display despite the elimination. Even so, the match also showed that Sturm still lack the level of efficiency required at this stage of European competition.
Sturm into Europa League, Fenerbahçe face Lyon
Sturm’s Champions League qualifying campaign is now over, but their European season continues without any further qualifiers. The Austrian champions are guaranteed a place in the league phase of the Europa League.
Fenerbahçe, meanwhile, will face Olympique Lyon for a place in the Champions League. The French side overturned a 2-1 first-leg defeat against Sparta Prague by winning the return fixture 3-0 at home.
Before then, both teams return to domestic action. Sturm host SCR Altach on Saturday, August 15 at 7:30pm. Fenerbahçe begin their new Süper Lig campaign on the same day with an away game against Gençlerbirliği. Their first Champions League play-off meeting with Lyon follows on August 18.
