Fenerbahce successfully navigated their Champions League play-off tie against Lyon on Wednesday, securing a spot in the league phase. Following a 1-1 draw in Istanbul last week, the Turkish side established a commanding 2-0 lead during the first half in southeastern France, with goals from Vedat Muriqi and English defender Archie Brown. Although Lyon’s Belgium winger Malick Fofana provided a second-half spark, the hosts were unable to complete a comeback as efforts from Lois Openda and Kail Boudache were disallowed for offside, allowing Fenerbahce to hold firm.
Elsewhere, AEK Athens comfortably advanced to the league phase after a dominant 4-0 victory over Levski Sofia. Barnabas Varga netted a brace, while former Real Madrid forward Luka Jovic contributed a goal. Razvan Marin added a penalty to seal the result, ensuring the Greek club progressed following their initial 0-0 stalemate in Bulgaria.
In Norway, Viking Stavanger staged a resilient comeback to defeat Dinamo Zagreb 3-1, securing a 5-3 aggregate victory and their first-ever appearance in the Champions League group phase. Despite an early lead for the visitors through Albanian Arber Hoxha, Zlatko Tripic leveled the score from the penalty spot just eight minutes later. The match was decided early in the second half when Edvin Austbo and Tobias Moi scored two goals within two minutes to confirm Viking’s progression. The report also notes that the Turks opened up a 2-0 lead on the night in the first half in southeastern France, with the teams locked at 1-1 from the first leg in Istanbul a week ago.
