In the second leg of the third round of the UEFA Champions League qualification, the Turkish side Fenerbahce hosted the French giants Lille. This match is not only about the honor of the two teams, but also the key to the Champions League playoffs, so both sides are determined to take the lead in this match.
At the beginning of the match, both sides started a fierce scramble, with a fast-paced transition between offense and defense, and the scene was extremely stalemate. Relying on the advantage of home field, Fenerbahce frequently launched attacks, trying to use fast counterattacks to tear apart Lille's defense. Lille, on the other hand, showed solid defense and sharp counterattacking ability, and nearly penetrated the opponent's goal several times.
As the game progressed, the physical strength of the players on both sides gradually declined, but the smell of gunpowder on the field became stronger and stronger. Just when the crowd thought the game would end in a draw, a dramatic scene occurred. In stoppage time, Lille defender Diakite inadvertently hit the ball into his own goal during a clearance, making a ludicrous own goal, and Fenerbahce unexpectedly took the lead.
However, Lille's bad luck didn't end there. Shortly after, Mandy was shown a red card by the referee for excessive action in defense, which forced Lille to play with ten men for the rest of the match, and the situation instantly became extremely unfavorable for the visitors.
Facing such a difficult situation, Lille players showed their tenacity and team spirit. They didn't give up because they were behind and playing with one man less, but instead, they united more closely together to look for a chance to equalize the score. Finally, in extra time, Osterwalder gave Fenerbahce a valuable penalty kick opportunity after an inadvertent handball foul during a defensive play. Jonathan Davey stepped up and calmly slotted the penalty into the bottom right corner of the goal to equalize for Lille.
As the final whistle blew, the two sides shook hands with a score of 1-1. Despite the seemingly even score, Lille managed to advance to the Champions League play-offs by virtue of a 3-2 aggregate score over the two legs.
