Fenerbahçe S.K. (Turkey) 1-1 (1-1) FC Krasnodar (Russia)
Goals: Smolov, 7 (Gazinskiy, 0-1), Škrtel, 41 (1-1).
Fenerbahçe S.K. (Turkey): Demirel (Fabiano, 71), Köybaşı, Kjær, Škrtel, Özbayraklı (Şen, 71), Potuk, Souza, Topal, Lens, Sow (Fernandão, 71), van Persie.
FC Krasnodar (Russia): Kritsyuk, Kaleshin, Granqvist, Naldo, Ramírez, Kaboré, Gazinskiy, Podberyozkin (Pereyra, 79), Claesson, Wánderson (Laborde, 64), Smolov.
Yellow cards: Köybaşı, 20 (foul play), Souza, 43 (foul play), Lens, 45+1 (foul play), Sow, 66 (unsporting behaviour) – Gazinskiy, 58 (attack breakdown), Kaleshin, 66 (foul play), Kaboré, 74 (foul play), Pereyra, 52 (attack breakdown).
Referees: Raczkowski, Listkiewicz, Obukowicz, Musiał, Kwiatkowski, Siejka (all Poland).
22 February 2017. Istanbul. Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium. Cloudy. 8 degrees. 32 000 spectators.
FC Krasnodar played a generally good first match of the two-leg tie vs. Fenerbahçe, so at the press-conference that followed their boss Igor Shalimov admitted he was happy with all the players without exceptions. No wonder he fielded almost the same squad for the second leg game. Almost is the word, because one change actually took place. The authority of the team captain of the Bulls is too high, and he means a lot for the black-greens on the field of play to leave him on a bench in an important match like this. Since Andreas Granqvist’s suspension was over, the Swede led his teammates to the pitch from the tunnel in a habitual way wearing the captain’s armband and assuming his position of a centre-back.
The home team’s manager Dick Advocaat made three alterations to his starting lineup if compared to the match in Krasnodar. Köybaşı was placed on the left flank of defense. Škrtel had served his suspension in the same way Granqvist did and returned to his rightful position of a centre-back. To much joy of the local supporters, their favorite player van Persie made an apperance at the spearhead of the attack.
When you play in Turkey, in Istanbul especially, the first ten or maybe even twenty minutes of the game are the most difficult. For FC Krasnodar the beginning turned out very intense, but altogether successful. Only a win would suffice for the Sarı Kanaryalar, so accompanied by the roaring support of their fans they hurled themselves against the away team’s bastions with ferocity of a Black Sea storm in winter. The black-green keeper Kritsyuk had to enter the game three times in the first five minutes after the kick-off, and a couple of more shots just barely missed the goal he protected.
On the 7th minute it was not really a counterattack that occurred, but rather a short two-turn sequence. Gazinskiy intercepted an inaccurate pass by some of the players of the opposition and got his bearings immediately sending his centre-forward to the home goal with a precise vertical pass. Fyodor Smolov did not wait for the defender to tackle him and took a shot from the 18-yard line. The ball bounced from the second goalpost and flew into the net.
After conceding this goal Fenerbahçe went on with their attacks. Those were somewhat chaotic but fairly persistent and massive at the same time. On the 18th minute FC Krasnodar received a perfect chance to cool their attacking fervor with another scored goal. The counterattack along the right flank came out a literally killing one. Podberyozkin broke away from the Turkish player centering the ball to Smolov. Only lonely Demirel frozen on the goal-line a few meters away from Fyodor separated him from a second goal, but he became exactly where the ball shot by the striker went.
Mid through the first half the game calmed down a bit, but not for long. In the last ten minutes before the half-time the Turkish team switched to playing more aggressively again pushing the Bulls against their own goal. Kritsyuk was busy as a bee. The Fener players kept on bumping into him brusquely with the referee paying no regard to those deeds. On the 41st minute this pressure finally turned into an equalizing goal. A ball served from one of the numerous set pieces met Josef de Souza’s head. Kritsyuk was merely able to brush against the ball that hit both goalposts and rolled along the goal-line where it was finished by Martin Škrtel. The Polish ref Raczkowski recorded a scored goal even though the replays left some doubts if one actually took place. As Souza attempted his header the Slovakian player, first on the second ball, was probably in an offside position.
In the second half FC Krasnodar did not drop too deep into defense, so a head-on game began. Various chances of all types kept on taking place next to both goals by turns, but the ball just did not want to get scored again. A most experienced Fenerbahçe keeper Demirel was on wires, so on one occasion Smolov barely missed exploiting a mistake he did. In the middle of the second half the Turkish goalie was injured and was substituted by Fabiano.
Two more substitutions were made by Dick Advocaat along with that one as two fresh outfield players came in, the mighty striker Fernandão and Şen the attacking halfback who assumed a position of the full-back. Still, this ‘bull speculation’ brought no benefit to the Istanbul team. Unprovoked by the players and supporters of the opposition, the Russian club controlled the flow of events on pitch at the death confidently. In the last minutes of the game the local fans went as far as to bombard the field of play with various small items and plastic bottles. In this manner the back-greens managed to bring the game to a final 1-1 tie that suited them well. On its ninth birthday FC Krasnodar has qualified for the UEL Round of 16 for the first time in history. Now the next opposition for the Bulls will be decided by a draw that is to take place on Friday, February 24th in Switzerland.