Greeted by a hostile atmosphere at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, the visitors had to contend with being continuously booed whilst in possession.
A high-energy start from Fenerbahce soon gave way to a period of Benfica dominance, yet clear-cut chances weren’t forthcoming for either side.
Turkish international Kerem Akturkoglu’s speculative free-kick attempt from distance was enough to force a save from Irfan Can Egribayat after nearly half an hour, shortly before Sebastian Szymanski saw his rifled shot from range easily held by Anatoliy Trubin.
Further attempts on target soon arrived from the hosts, who at least kept the visiting goalkeeper busy as half-time approached, perhaps offering some encouragement in what was otherwise a rather uneventful first half.
Having concluded the first period on the front foot, albeit without truly testing Benfica’s resolve, Fenerbahce started the second half confidently.
The visitors had scored by the 60th minute in each of their four competitive outings this season, but as the clock ticked past the hour mark, the contest remained deadlocked.
Jose Mourinho turned to Anderson Talisca in search of a spark, with the Brazilian substitute looking to make amends for a stoppage-time penalty miss in a goalless draw with Goztepe at the weekend. Within four minutes of his introduction, he made a telling contribution when he skipped past Florentino Luis, who received a second yellow card in a matter of minutes for grabbing his shirt.
Now down to 10 men, Benfica were saved by an offside call late on when Youssef En-Nesyri capitalised on a Trubin mistake, reacting first to poke home after Talisca’s strike had slipped through his hands and back off the crossbar.
Ultimately, the home side were unable to take full advantage of their numerical superiority as Benfica claimed a fifth clean sheet of the campaign. Crucially, it’s all to play for in the second leg, with Fenerbahce fighting to avoid a third UCL playoff defeat.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nelson Semedo (Fenerbahce)
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