Backed by a raucous Sukru Saracoglu faithful, Fenerbahce enjoyed the brighter start, and after Kerem Akturkoglu fired a promising close-range shot straight at Daniil Khudyakov, he played a key role in the ninth-minute opener, laying the ball on for Talisca to smash an unstoppable drive into the net.
That made it three goals in as many UCL qualification appearances for the Brazilian, and the hosts only continued to threaten from there, with Mason Greenwood seeing a long-range effort blocked.
The loss of Jayden Oosterwolde to injury brought about an unplanned change for Fenerbahce, and that disruption almost resulted in a Sturm Graz leveller, when Seedy Jatta came within an inch of connecting at the end of a Szymon Wlodarczyk ball from the right flank.
But normal service resumed, and Fenerbahce doubled their advantage just before the break, when Marco Asensio played a corner short to Greenwood, who then rifled into the bottom-right corner with a rasping drive from distance – a maiden Fenerbahce goal to remember.
The Austrians began the second half on a positive note and Jatta made a jinking run into the box, only to be denied at the crucial moment by a perfectly timed challenge by Fener captain Milan Skriniar.
The hosts resumed their menacing at the other end, though, and just before the hour mark, Talisca and Akturkoglu linked up with keeper Daniil Khudyakov getting a touch on the Brazilian’s goalbound effort. That pushed it into the path of Akturkoglu, but he could only head onto the roof of the net with the goal at his mercy.
Talisca was a constant source of torment for Sturm Graz, and he forced another good stop from Khudyakov moments later as Ismail Kartal’s side looked to extend their lead. First, his shot was tipped around the post, before he flicked on Skriniar’s header from the resulting corner, only for Khudyakov to produce a stunning point-blank save.
For their part, Fabio Ingolitsch’s side struggled to get anything going at the other end, and while they did keep the deficit at two, it will still be an uphill task on home soil next week if they are to cause a stunning upset.
Fenerbahce, meanwhile, will be confident of moving one step away from a return to the UCL main draw for the first time since 2008.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Milan Skriniar (Fenerbahce)
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