celtic level but fenerbahçe forge on published: thursday 10 december 2015, 21.10cet fenerbahçe 1-1 celtic the home side ended their 200th uefa game with ten men but progressed as lazar markovic scored his first goal for the turkish club. by çetin cem yılmaz from şükrü saracoğlu
draw enough for fenerbahçe to hold on to second place in group a in 200th uefa game seemingly plain sailing after lazar markovic scores first goal for the hosts diego dismissed on 67 minutes; kris commons scores for celtic seven minutes later yellow canaries look shaky at the end, but join molde in knockout phase the draw for the round of 32 takes place on monday at 13.00cet
fenerbahçe lived on their nerves in the closing stages, but the ten men held on for a draw against celtic to confirm their progress to the uefa europa league round of 32.
needing a point to squeeze out ajax, their only challengers for second place in group a, fenerbahçe took the lead on 39 minutes. lazar markovic received a long ball from gökhan gönül, with a mistimed intervention from celtic goalkeeper craig gordon inviting the pacey winger to finish into an empty net – his first goal since joining the club on loan from liverpool.
there had been no questioning gordon's focus earlier on; he pushed an early mehmet topal shot on to the post as fenerbahçe started ferociously, powered by electric support from the stands. on 29 minutes, he was called upon again, fending away diego's long-range effort and then souza's effort on the follow-up.
seemingly safe, fenerbahçe took their time after the break, but diego's dismissal for a chop at stefan johansen on 67 minutes blew their cool. ıt went sourer for the hosts when kris commons headed in a good cross from mikael lustig – the first goal fenerbahçe had conceded in group a since commons beat fabiano in side's previous 1 october meeting.
there were a few more nervy moments at the end, but fenerbahçe's 200th uefa club competition game ultimately had a happy ending.
gökhan gönül impresses ınjured at the start of the season, gökhan gönül lost his starting spot to şener özbayraklı, but it seems only to have toughened his resolve. the fenerbahçe captain is arguably in the form of his career and his energy and vision laid on fenerbahçe's goal.
commons breaks the spell kris commons scored celtic's second 32 minutes into in a 2-2 draw when the sides met on matchday two – the fifth goal fenerbahçe had conceded at that stage. the yellow canaries then went 303 minutes without conceding a european goal until commons headed the bhoys' leveller in ıstanbul.
