Fenerbahce defeated Anderlecht 3-0 on Thursday in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League knockout play-off round at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, taking a giant step to secure the round of 16 ahead of the second leg, Anadolu Agency reports.

The Turkish side controlled the game from the start and took the lead early with its Serbian winger Dusan Tadic’s header in a corner kick in the 11th minute.

After the goal, the Yellow Canaries gradually lost their momentum as the Belgian side intensified its pressure on the host’s net.

However, Fenerbahce found the second goal towards the end of the halftime when its other Serbian, Filip Kostic, found his veteran teammate Edin Dzeko in the box, who calmly finished in the 42nd minute after grabbing the rebound from its blocked attempt to end the first half.

At the beginning of the second half, Moroccan forward Youssef En-Nesyri extended the lead to three in the 57th minute with a powerful header from the penalty spot, assisted by Sebastian Szymański.

The match ended 3-0, leaving Anderlecht with a tough challenge in the second leg, scheduled for Feb. 20 in Brussels.