Fenerbahce see off Feyenoord to book Champions League playoff with Benfica
The storied head coach's team surged into the Champions League qualifying playoffs by overturning a two-goal deficit in a 5-2 qualifying round win against Robin van Persie's Feyenoord.
Fenerbahce went through 6-4 on aggregate and will face Benfica, where Mourinho got his first head coach job 25 years ago, with a place in the 36-team league phase at stake.
The first leg is in Istanbul next Wednesday with the return on 27 August at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon, where Mourinho lasted less than three months in 2000. Benfica advanced after beating Nice 2-0 at home, having won the first leg by the same score in France last week.
Fenerbahce last played in the group stage of the Champions League in 2008-09 and their biggest rivals, Galatasaray, are also in the draw as Turkish champions.
Fenerbahce had lost 2-1 in the Netherlands last week and fell further behind when the Feyenoord defender Tsuyoshi Watanabe scored in the 41st minute.
Mourinho's players rallied with two goals before half-time – the second by the Colombia forward Jhon Durán, on a season-long loan from Saudi club Al Nassr. The former Manchester United midfielder Fred padded the lead early in the second half before Talisca completed the scoring.
Rangers advanced to the playoffs, 4-2 on aggregate, against Viktoria Plzen despite a 2-1 defeat in the Czech Republic.
The Scottish club will welcome Club Brugge in next week's playoff first leg, after the Belgian side staged a 3-2 comeback win against Salzburg to win 4-2 on aggregate.
Pafos, champions of Cyprus, beat Dynamo Kyiv 2-0 to advance 3-0 on aggregate. Pafos will play Red Star Belgrade, the 1991 European Cup winners, who beat Lech Poznan 4-2 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw in Serbia.
Copenhagen beat its near neighbour Malmö 5-0, one week after a first-leg scoreless draw. The Danish side's reward is a two-legged playoff against the Swiss champions Basel.
Qarabag of Azerbaijan routed North Macedonian champion Shkendija 5-1 and 6-1 on aggregate, to earn a playoff against Ferencvaros, a 3-0 winner in Budapest against Ludogorets of Bulgaria.
Kazakhstan's Kairat Almaty won a penalty shootout at Slovan Bratislava, after the teams drew 1-1 on aggregate. They will travel to Scotland for the playoff first leg against Celtic.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
15 minutes ago
- BBC News
Broadhead fee reflects 'real Championship quality'
Manager Phil Parkinson says Wrexham had to break their own transfer record to get "real Championship quality" in signing Nathan forward Broadhead, 27, has joined from Ipswich Town on a four-year deal which could eventually be worth £ previous record transfer fee was believed to be in excess of £3m when they signed midfielder Lewis O'Brien from Nottingham Forest in July."The fee has been out there at £10m but I think we have to get to the Premier League and win the Champions League to get to that," Parkinson told BBC Sport Wales."But it's a price for a player of real Championship quality."The fee with Ipswich had been agreed a for a long time, obviously they wanted to sign a player so we had to be patient."But they've been fair and both parties are happy with the deal." Bangor-born Broadhead was in the final year of his contract with Ipswich, where he scored 23 goals in 83 season Broadhead, who started his professional career at Everton, scored two goals in 18 Premier League games for Kieran McKenna's side."He's just got that Championship pedigree, the ability to create something in tight situations, you need players to unlock the door and create key moments in games and Nathan's got that," Parkinson added."He's shown it at Ipswich at levels over the past few seasons and obviously the story of him coming home is a great one as well."He was really keen to come here and I'm really looking forward to working with him." Broadhead is Wrexham's ninth signing since they were promoted from League One last season – their third successive automatic Dragons have broken their transfer record on numerous occasions since Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took control of the club in acknowledged the backing of the club's owners in preparing a squad to compete in the Championship this season."I think it's key - there's a lot of spending power in the division," Parkinson said."I think from day one we've moved so quickly and we've always had to work hard as a club to fast track the quality level for the first team as we've always played catch-up."But we've come to this division very quickly and it's important that we bought in Championship standard players to help us on this journey and also assist the existing players who've done so well over the last few years."
STV News
17 minutes ago
- STV News
Rangers boss Russell Martin: 'We're turning a tanker around'
Rangers head coach Russell Martin has faith that his work with the team will take them in the right direction after a slow start in the Premiership, but says the job is like 'turning a tanker'. Martin guided his side into the Champions League play-offs this week with victory over Viktoria Plzen over two legs, setting up a tie with Club Brugge that could see Rangers book a place in the elite competition. However, Premiership draws with Motherwell and Dundee have meant a poor start to the domestic season, with both team and manager coming in for heavy criticism. Martin accepts that the job comes with intense scrutiny but is calm and confident that things will improve and deliver the success he wants. But he said a conversation with a member of staff had helped illustrate the scale of the task he believes he has taken on at Ibrox. 'I think there's been an energy around this place for a while that isn't, I'm talking inside, outside, it's just been a lot of disappointment and a lot of frustration and a lot of criticism to the players, to the club,' the head coach said 'Everyone has an opinion; everyone's entitled to one. So whilst I'm here, whilst we are here, our job is to really focus on what we can affect and what we can impact. 'If we do our jobs to the best of our ability in here and focus on the work and being better and having really, really high standards that this club should stand for, then I just don't see how it doesn't go in the right direction. 'One of the maintenance guys here this week said, 'We're turning a tanker around, gaffer, and it will just take some time, but when we get it going…' and I thought it was a perfect analogy. 'He's a great guy. He was here when I was here before. I don't want to embarrass him, but honestly, when he said that, I was like, 'No, you're right.' 'We just qualified for the Champions League [play-off]. 'I spoke to the staff on Sunday after Dundee because everyone here supports the club and they really feel things. 'But our job in here is to try and just work and not let the outside noise affect how we work. It just can't.' Martin instead wants to focus on the process of bedding in the new-look squad and getting everyone to understand and execute his vision for the team's style. 'I think [we need to be] be really consistent in the process here,' he said. 'We need to be really consistent in our behavior, be really consistent in what we're asking them to do. 'And then that consistency will show up on the pitch. I've been in this situation at every club we've been at. 'This is why I can sit here calmly and tell you what I think is going to happen next. 'We just have to trust the work and trust each other. And I've spoken to the players relentlessly about that. 'And I can see what's coming with them, how they're growing into the culture we're trying to build, how they're adapting to it, and that's why I'm excited about what's going to come.' After the pressures of Europe, Martin now turns his attention to domestic cup competition, with the Premier Sports Cup tie against Alloa on Saturday. He had a positive update on the injury front, with reassuring news about Cyriel Dessers and a return for other players. 'Cyriel is not as bad as everyone feared,' he said. 'Tomorrow will be too early, but we're really hopeful he can be involved on Tuesday. 'I think everyone feared the worst with the way he went off. 'There was a small issue, but it's nowhere near as big as it could have been, so it was good. A bit stiff and a bit sore still, but we will work hard to give him every chance to be fit for Tuesday.' Max Aarons will return to the squad after injury, while Thelo Aasgard and Hamza Igamane are in contention to play after a spell on the sidelines. New signing Mikey Moore, who joined on loan from Spurs, is also available, giving Martin some big selection decisions. 'It is a nice position to be in,' he said. 'We'll see how many minutes they'll get on the pitch, but they'll all be back involved.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Times
18 minutes ago
- Times
Kevin Phillips: No one knew me in Sunderland — then I was on dentist's wall
O ver the clatter of steel and the low drum of drills, Kevin Phillips is watching the unique fizz of work men on a tight deadline outside a football ground, one in which he earned his own superhero nickname. The Stadium of Light is a hive of activity just over 48 hours before Premier League football returns to the ground after an eight-year absence. The sense of rebirth is further magnified by the new Keel Crossing, a bridge that will lead from the stadium across the River Wear to the city of Sunderland on its completion next month. It evokes a memory from 28 years ago for Phillips, back to the first time he drove — on his own — to a stadium that was desperately being finished back then, for its first ever match, a friendly with Ajax. He was a spectator for the night, having just signed from Watford, but he was a player for the first league game at the stadium against Manchester City on August 15, 1997.
