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Fenerbahce and Roma played out a 1-1 draw at Ulker Stadyumu on Thursday, as both clubs marked their long-awaited returns to the Champions League with a share of the spoils rather than the winning start either had hoped for.
Bryan Cristante's first-half strike had put the visitors in front before Archie Brown leveled for the hosts three minutes into the second half. Roma believed they had won a late penalty to retake the lead, only for VAR to overturn the decision, and Fenerbahce's Nathan Ake came closest to snatching a winner when his header struck the crossbar in the final minutes.
The opening 39 minutes offered little in the way of clear chances, with Paulo Dybala twice testing Fenerbahce goalkeeper Ederson but neither side finding a breakthrough. Roma eventually broke the deadlock when Donyell Malen drove infield from the left and slipped the ball to Cristante just outside the box. The midfielder took a touch before firing a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner, sending Roma in at halftime with a 1-0 lead.
Roma held 71.4 percent of possession in the opening exchanges, though the chances were sparse on both sides in a first half in which neither team recorded a shot on target between the 12th and 39th minutes.
Fenerbahce responded quickly after the break. In the 48th minute, Mason Greenwood threaded a through ball into the path of Brown, who showed composure to finish past Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar and level the score at 1-1. The goal extended Fenerbahce's run of scoring in every competitive match they have played since mid-July.
Fenerbahce pressed for a second in the minutes that followed. Vedat Muriqi and Bartug Elmaz both had efforts saved or off target, while a driving run from N'Golo Kante set up another chance for Muriqi that Svilar turned away.
The match turned on a contentious moment in the 68th minute, when Roma appeared to be awarded a penalty after Kerem Akturkoglu was penalized for bringing down Dybala inside the area. Referee Jesus Gil Manzano's decision was reviewed by VAR, which determined the foul had occurred just outside the box. The penalty was overturned, and Akturkoglu was shown a yellow card for his protests moments later.
Roma continued to press following the reversal, with Malen shooting straight at Fenerbahce's defense from the resulting free kick and seeing two efforts blocked inside the box.
Both sides had further openings as the match wore on. Dybala worked into the box in the 76th minute but shot straight at Ederson, while Fenerbahce came closest to snatching a winner in the 87th minute when substitute Mercan's free kick found Ake at the back post. The defender's header struck the crossbar, and Roma scrambled the loose ball clear.
Fenerbahce finished the match having generated 1.64 expected goals to Roma's 0.53, according to match data, though neither side could find a second goal before the final whistle. Six players were booked across the match: Devyne Rensch, Brown, Akturkoglu, Mert Muldur, Ismail Yuksek and Cristante.
The draw marked significant returns to Europe's top club competition for both sides. Fenerbahce advanced through qualifying past Gornik Zabrze, Sturm Graz and Lyon to reach the league phase for the first time in 18 years, while Roma were back in the Champions League for the first time since the 2018-19 season. It was the first competitive meeting between the two clubs.
Fenerbahce next travel to Gaziantep on Monday, while Roma head to Torino the same day.
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