Fenerbahce and Slavia Prague drew 2-2 in a Champions League league-phase match in Türkiye on Tuesday, a result that left both clubs without a win this season but felt far kinder to the visitors, who rallied from two goals down, APA reports citing Türkiye Today.
Substitute Pavel Kacor struck in the 90th minute to level the match after Fenerbahce, who raced into a 2-0 lead inside 11 minutes, retreated into their own half after the break and ceded control to the Czech side.
A blistering start for the hosts
Fenerbahce took the lead after four minutes when Oguz Aydin received the ball on the right flank, cut inside and curled a shot into the top corner.
Goalkeeper Jakub Markovic got a hand to it but could not keep it out. Milan Skriniar provided the assist.
The advantage doubled in the 11th minute. Nelson Semedo found Mason Greenwood unmarked inside the area, and the forward finished with a half-volley.
Greenwood, who joined Fenerbahce from Marseille in the summer, has now scored seven goals this season.
Slavia Prague, largely outplayed in the opening quarter of an hour, pulled a goal back in the 15th minute.
Matteo Guendouzi misjudged a pass on the edge of his own penalty area, and Lukas Provod swept the loose ball home from close range.
Chances, a key save and an injury
The hosts remained the likelier side to score before the interval. Aydin went close again from even further out, striking the side-netting, and Guendouzi curled an effort over the crossbar.
Defender Nathan Ake went off injured in the 21st minute after landing awkwardly while challenging for a header from a corner, and Kojo Peprah Oppong made his Champions League debut in his place.
Slavia Prague finished the first half with a warning. Danijel Sturm won a free kick on the edge of the area and curled it around the wall, but his effort hit the side-netting.
Fenerbahce led 2-1 at the break.
In the second half, Markovic made a key save to deny Dorgeles Nene, who had come on as a substitute, from extending the lead after Romelu Lukaku, also a substitute, set him up with a cross in the 64th minute.
By the 51st minute, Fenerbahce had taken nine shots to Slavia Prague’s seven, though they trailed in expected goals from open play, 0.29 to 0.44.
Slavia Prague pile on the pressure
Fenerbahce lost their grip on the match after the restart. Slavia Prague enjoyed more of the ball, and Mubarak Suleiman began to influence play.
Ederson was forced into saves, including one from Emmanuel Ayaosi in the 80th minute, a sign that the match was far from over.
The pressure told in the 90th minute. Ayaosi found space down the right and whipped in a cross, and the 20-year-old Kacor, who had replaced Suleiman five minutes earlier, poked the ball home to make it 2-2.
Four players were booked in the match: N’Golo Kante, Skriniar and Ismail Yuksek for Fenerbahce, and Wiktor Nowak for Slavia Prague.
Two struggling campaigns
The draw leaves Fenerbahce with two draws and a loss from their opening three matches, and they sit 25th in the table.
Slavia Prague, who gained their first point of the campaign, are 29th.
Fenerbahce were beaten 6-0 by Aston Villa at Villa Park in their previous Champions League outing, after opening the campaign with a 1-1 home draw against Roma.
Slavia Prague lost 3-2 at home to Lens, playing nearly an entire half with 10 men, before a 2-0 defeat away to Sabah last week.
Slavia Prague had gone 21 consecutive Champions League matches without a win during the first half of the match, a run that only three sides have bettered in European Cup history since 1955: AEK Athens (23 matches between 1989 and 2006), FCSB (23, between 2006 and 2013) and Spartak Moscow (22, between 2000 and 2006).
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