Mourinho on brink of guiding Fenerbahce back into Champions League; former side of Haaland misses out on UCL
The storied coach's team surged into the Champions League qualifying play-offs by overturning a two-goal deficit on aggregate Tuesday with a 5-2 win against Feyenoord, coached by Robin van Persie.
Fenerbahce advanced 6-4 on aggregate score and faces Benfica — where Mourinho got his first head coach job 25 years ago — next, with a place in the 36-team league phase at stake.
The first leg is in Istanbul on Wednesday next week, with the return on August 27 at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon, where Mourinho — a two-time Champions League winner — lasted less than three months in 2000.
Benfica advanced on Tuesday after beating Nice 2-0 at home after winning the first leg by the same score in France last week.
Fenerbahce last played in the old group stage of the Champions League in the 2008-09 season, and its biggest rival, Galatasaray, is already in the August 28 main draw as the Turkish league champion.
Fenerbahce had lost 1-2 in the Netherlands last week and fell further behind in the second leg of the third qualifying round clash when Feyenoord defender Tsuyoshi Watanabe scored the opener in the 41st minute.
Mourinho saw his players rally quickly with two goals before halftime — the second by Colombia forward Jhon Durán, on a season-long loan from Saudi club Al Nassr.
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Former Manchester United midfielder Fred padded the lead early in the second half, and Talisca — another former teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo — completed the scoring.
Rangers advanced to the play-offs 4-2 on aggregate against Viktoria Plzen despite a 2-1 loss on Tuesday in the Czech Republic.
Cyriel Dessers of Rangers FC celebrates scoring his team's second goal from the penalty spot during the UEFA Champions League Third Qualifying Round match against Viktoria Plzen. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
The Scottish club will host the first leg of its play-off next week against Club Brugge, which got three second-half goals in a 3-2 comeback win on Tuesday over Salzburg to advance 4-2 on aggregate.
Salzburg — the former team of Manchester City striker Erling Haaland — was playing in the FIFA Club World Cup just six weeks ago but is unlikely to qualify for the next one in 2029, now missing out on Champions League play for the first time in seven seasons.
Russian-owned Pafos, the champion of Cyprus, beat Dynamo Kyiv of Ukraine 2-0 to advance 3-0 on aggregate. Pafos next faces Red Star Belgrade, the 1991 European Cup winner, which beat Lech Poznan 4-2 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw on Tuesday in Serbia.
Copenhagen beat its near neighbour, Malmö, 5-0, one week after a goalless draw on the other side of the Oresund Bridge that connects Denmark and Sweden. Copenhagen's reward is a two-legged play-off against Swiss champion Basel.
Qarabag of Azerbaijan routed North Macedonian champion Shkendija 5-1, and 6-1 on aggregate, to earn a play-off 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 were tied 1-1 on aggregate, and next travels across four time zones to Scotland for the play-off first leg against Celtic.
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