Paulo Fonseca’s men now face Lyon in a high-stakes Champions League playoff first leg on Tuesday evening (21:00 CET) with a vastly altered starting lineup. The Turkish club made six changes from their midweek Europa Conference League win over Sturm Graz, resting several key players including N’Golo Kanté, Mason Greenwood, Nélson Semedo, and Kerem Aktürkoglu.

Under coach Ismail Kartal, Fenerbahçe started brightly against Gençlerbirligi, dominating possession (71%) and creating 27 shots (10 on target). Brazilian midfielder Anderson Talisca opened the scoring in the 13th minute, but the visitors quickly found themselves in trouble. Franco Tongya equalized just before halftime (1-1, 37′), and Gençlerbirligi took the lead through Ogulcan Ülgün early in the second period (2-1, 56′).

The defeat was compounded by goalkeeper issues, with Mert Günok (injured) and Ederson (suspended) unavailable. Third-choice keeper Tarik Cetin, making his debut, conceded from two of the three shots on target he faced. The result leaves Fenerbahçe with questions ahead of their Champions League clash, though they remain favorites heading into Tuesday’s encounter.