Although both hugely successful sides, their polarising recent records in the UCL – where Fenerbahçe last made an appearance in the group stage 17 years ago – showed that it could be a difficult away day for the Canaries, and that’s certainly how it played out in the opening stages.
The hosts were unlucky to hit the net twice early on but see both ruled out, with Vangelis Pavlidis’ tap-in chalked off due to Leandro Barreiro being offside and interfering with play, before Barreiro himself was on the wrong side of a VAR call for pushing Archie Brown as he headed in.
But Estádio da Luz attendees were finally given cause for prolonged celebration in the 35th minute when Aktürkoğlu benefited from a Çağlar Söyüncü error and dispatched powerfully into the near top corner.
That spurred Benfica on to more chances, while Fenerbahçe continued to struggle going forward, especially when trying to muster a quality final ball.
José Mourinho’s half-time words appeared to make little difference too, and Dominik Livaković instead had to be on hand to prevent Pavlidis from making their situation worse.
Things finally started to look up for the away side with 20 minutes to go, and they were hugely unlucky not to snatch an equaliser when Youssef En-Nesyri flicked Oğuz Aydın’s cross onto the bar.
Anderson Talisca was also lively, but he put his own night to a premature end by elbowing Enzo Barrenechea and receiving a second yellow as a result. It was an uphill battle thereon, and they failed to cause their opponents any more trouble as Benfica held on to secure their UCL berth once again.
Keeping a seventh consecutive clean sheet was key to Benfica’s success here, but it was Aktürkoğlu’s goal which ultimately clinched the tie and sent their opponents into the UEFA Europa League league phase instead.
José Mourinho may now need to guide his team to the knockout stages of that competition as well as the Süper Lig title, or his stay in Kadıköy could come to an end this campaign.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Kerem Aktürkoğlu (SL Benfica)