Fenerbahce and Roma returned to the Champions League after 18 and eight years, respectively, and earned their first points in the new campaign, sharing spoils in Istanbul – 1-1.Both sides had their moments of dominance, but the final outcome is definitely the fairest one, considering everything the rivals showed on the pitch.O Captain! My Captain! Odegaard resolves the stalemateRoma crowned a better display in the first half with Bryan Cristante's long-range opener six minutes before the break, while Fenerbahce secured a point through Archie Brown's 48th-minute equaliser.The Turkish club was slightly closer to winning the match, as Nathan Ake hit the bar in the final minutes, but luck wasn't on the Dutchman's side.Either way, both teams can be satisfied with a point each earned.FT: Fenerbahçe 1-1 Roma#UCL pic.twitter.com/yC7PcG84Mv— Squawka Live (@Squawka_Live) September 10, 2026 Considering the importance of the game – it marked both teams' return to the Champions League – the opening half failed to produce much in the way of interesting, fluid football. In fact, aside from a couple of Fenerbahce's long-range attempts and one decent chance for Paulo Dybala that Ederson saved, over 47,000 people had little to cheer about.Had it not been for Bryan Cristante's fantastic strike in the 39th minute, the rivals would have remained level at the break. Instead, the Roma captain made the most of Donyell Malen's assist, scoring a fine goal to break the deadlock and put his team in front.Nevertheless, the visitors' lead was short-lived, as Fenerbahce managed to equalise just three minutes into the second half.Roma's defence was caught out, Mason Greenwood found space, played Archie Brown through on goal, and the defender made no mistake, calmly making it 1-1.Buoyed by the leveller, the Turkish giants piled on the pressure, but Vedat Muriqi's massive chance in the 52nd minute was the only notable moment it produced, and the spell didn't last long.##EDITORS_CHOICE##In the final 25 minutes, the Giallorossi were mainly in control. They requested a penalty on several occasions, with referee Jesus Gil Manzano pointing to the spot in the 68th minute, only for the VAR room to overturn his decision because the foul was committed outside the box.The former Roma striker Romelu Lukaku was subbed on in the 72nd minute, but couldn't do much harm to his ex-club.Fenerbahce were the closest to taking the whole spoils in the 86th minute when Nathan Ake's header crashed against the crossbar, marking the last notable opportunity in the game.In the end, the most important thing for both sides is that neither marked their Champions League return with a defeat. A draw can be considered a positive outcome and a good result to build on.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUEROUND 1TuesdayAEK – LASK 1-0 (1-0)/Marin 21/Club Brugge – Aston Villa 2-3 (1-3)/Vetlesen 19, Tresoldi 61 pen – McGinn 11, Buendia 22, Jackson 43/Porto – Manchester City 0-2 (0-0)/Haaland 47, 90+1/Dortmund – Villarreal 3-2 (0-0)/Veiga 53 og, Guirassy 80, 85 pen – Mourino 66, Guirassy 90+3 og/Lille – Betis 2-3 (2-1)/Ueda 12, Ribeiro 36 – Bartra 33,49, Parrott 53/Real Madrid – Inter 2-1 (2-0)/Mbappe 14, Valverde 23 – Augusto 77/WednesdayBarcelona – Feyenoord 5-1 (2-0)/Raphinha 3, 57, Aeyemi 22, Yamal 77, Jesus 85 – Steijn 82/Stuttgart – Viking 3-1 (3-1)/Demirovic 20, 26, 32 – Tripic 22/Liverpool – Atl.Madrid 2-1 (1-1)/Szoboszlai 40, Mac Allister 50 – Llorente 17/Napoli – Arsenal 0-1 (0-0)/Odegaard 75/PSG – Slovan B. 6-1 (3-0)/Dembele 17, 23, Torres 31, 47, 57, Ruiz 87 – Camara 58/Sporting – Galatasaray 3-1 (1-1)/Catamo 27, Suarez 57(p), Zalazar 63 – Inacio 5(og)/ThursdayFenerbahce – Roma 1-1 (0-1)/Brown 48 – Cristante 39/PSV – Shakhtar Donetsk 1-1 (0-1)/Dest 48 – Mendoza 45+1/22.00: (1.10) Bayern (10.0) Bodo (16.0)22.00: (1.95) Como (3.50) RB Leipzig (3.90)22.00: (1.10) Man.Utd. (11.0) Sabah (18.0)22.00: (2.60) Slavia Praha (3.35) Lens (2.70)***odds are subject to change***