José Mourinho’s Fenerbahce may have just made it into the Europa League knockout playoffs, but it is now on the verge of reaching the round of 16.
Fenerbahce dominated Anderlecht 3-0 on Thursday, taking a strong lead to Belgium for the second leg next week. Meanwhile, two of Mourinho’s former teams, Porto and Roma, drew 1-1 in the competition.
Fenerbahce barely made it to the playoffs, finishing 24th in the new 36-team standings format, securing the last qualification spot on a tiebreaker based on goal difference. Anderlecht finished 10th, missing automatic progression to the last 16 due to goal difference.
Fenerbahce took the lead in the 11th minute. Anderlecht failed to clear a corner, and the ball was returned to the area where Yusuf Akçiçek headed it to Dusan Tadic, who scored with a header.
Edin Dzeko doubled the lead just before halftime. Filip Kostic made a good run down the left, and although Dzeko’s shot was blocked by Anderlecht defender Lucas Hey, the veteran forward fired the rebound into the net.
Youssef En-Nesyri added a third goal with a powerful header in the 57th minute, and Fenerbahce missed several opportunities to increase the score.
Yusuf Akçiçek’s header hit the post. It would have been his first-ever goal, after providing his first assist earlier in the match.
Dutch club AZ Alkmaar also holds a strong advantage going into next week’s second leg, having defeated 10-man Galatasaray 4-1.
Roma’s key forward Paulo Dybala was injured in the first half of their match in Portugal, suffering a knee injury. Dybala screamed in pain after Porto’s Alan Varela’s boot hit his knee in the 20th minute. He continued playing for another 15 minutes but was forced to leave the field.
Roma took the lead just before halftime when Zeki Celik scored his first goal for the club. Porto equalized in the 67th minute with Francisco Moura’s deflected shot. Roma’s Bryan Cristante was sent off five minutes later after receiving a second yellow card.
Zeki Celik scores the opening goalIn another game, Ajax won 2-0 at Union Saint-Gilloise, with 16-year-old Jorthy Mokio scoring the second goal in the 71st minute. Mokio became the youngest player to score in a Europa League knockout stage match, at 16 years and 350 days old. Christian Rasmussen had scored the first goal for Ajax in the 59th minute.
In other results, Real Sociedad defeated Midtjylland 2-1, and Ferencvaros won 1-0 against Viktoria Plzen. FCSB came from behind to win 2-1 at PAOK, and Twente won 2-1 over Bodo/Glimt with a stoppage-time penalty.
Sixteen-year-old Michael Noonan made history by scoring on his Shamrock Rovers debut, helping the Irish team win 1-0 at 10-man Molde. Noonan, at 16 years and 197 days old, became the youngest-ever goalscorer in a European club competition. He scored in the 57th minute and also forced a red card for Molde’s Valdemar Lund, who fouled him as the last defender just before halftime.
Víkingur Reykjavík made history as the first-ever Icelandic club to win a European knockout match by beating Panathinaikos 2-1. The game was held in Helsinki as no stadium in Iceland met the required standards.
Armandas Kučys scored twice but missed a late penalty as Celje drew 2-2 with 10-man APOEL. Real Betis won 3-0 at Gent, and Jagiellonia won 3-1 at TSC.
European newcomers Heidenheim fought back to win 2-1 at Copenhagen, while Omonoia and Pafos drew 1-1 in an all-Cypriot match. Borac won 1-0 against Olimpija, despite having a late penalty saved.
