Fenerbahce, Who Have Never Beaten Lyon in Five Meetings, Now Present a Serious Obstacle to Lyon's European Dream

Olympique Lyonnais play their Champions League play-off first leg on Tuesday at Fenerbahce's ground in Istanbul, Turkey, with the Turkish club described as "naturally favorite" by Lyon coach Paulo Fonseca. The match takes place at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium on the Asian side of the Bosphorus. Lyon are playing their third match of the season on Tuesday, August 18, while most French Ligue 1 clubs are still fine-tuning details ahead of the league's resumption on Friday, August 21. The Rhone club eliminated Sparta Prague in the previous round, though not without difficulty, and are now two matches away from qualifying for the Champions League group stage for the first time since the 2019-2020 season.

Fenerbahce, who have never beaten Lyon in five meetings, now present a serious obstacle to Lyon's European dream. Fonseca justified his assessment by citing the "quality of investments" made by Fenerbahce in the transfer market, as the Turkish club, like other major teams in the country, has attracted several stars to its squad in recent months.