Aktürkoğlu collapses, and the Lyon equation changes
The defining moment of the week was not the 4–2 win over Konyaspor on Saturday. It was Kerem Aktürkoğlu lying on the pitch, then in hospital, with a head injury that will keep him out of the Lyon return leg (3) (6). Fenerbahçe won the league match, their first of the season, but the cost was two creative players. Marco Asensio is out as well, confirmed by football director Oğuz Çetin (2) (4). Wednesday in Lyon just got harder.
The league win restored some calm, for 30 minutes
Fenerbahçe beat Konyaspor 4–2 at home, the first win in a Süper Lig campaign that opened with a 2–1 defeat at Gençlerbirliği. Position in the table: 6th, 3 points, +1 goal difference. Lukaku still has not scored (22). Four goals without him finding the net is a strange stat, but the result matters more than the scorer right now. Ismail Kartal needed this.
The squad is being dismantled and rebuilt at once
Jayden Oosterwolde is going to Roma on loan with an option to buy, Romano confirmed it (10). Diego Carlos is heading back to Como, final stage of negotiations (20). Anderson Talisca was not in the Konyaspor squad and is on his way out, linked with Al-Jazira (8) (14). Meanwhile the club is in talks with Al Hilal over a defender (9). Oosterwolde out, a Saudi-based defender potentially in. That is the shape of Fenerbahçe's window.
What to watch
The Lyon play-off return leg is Wednesday August 26. The first leg result is not in any source I have, but with Aktürkoğlu and Asensio out, Fenerbahçe travel shorthanded. After Lyon, Samsunspor away in the league on Sunday August 30. Two names decide the week: Aktürkoğlu's recovery under FIFA concussion protocol (6) (15), and the identity of the Al Hilal defender (9).
