José Mourinho produced another trademark European comeback as Fenerbahce stormed into the Champions League qualifying playoffs, overturning a two-goal deficit to beat Feyenoord 5–2 on the night and 6–4 on aggregate.
The Turkish giants, aiming for a first group stage appearance since 2008–09, will face Benfica, where Mourinho began his head coach career 25 years ago, for a spot in the 36-team league phase.
Fenerbahce, trailing 2–1 from the first leg in the Netherlands, were rocked when Tsuyoshi Watanabe struck for Feyenoord in the 41st minute. But Mourinho’s side roared back with two goals before half-time, including one from Colombian forward Jhon Durán on loan from Al Nassr. Fred added a third after the break before Talisca wrapped up the tie, sending the Istanbul crowd into raptures.
Rangers also progressed despite a 2–1 away loss to Viktoria Plzen, advancing 4–2 on aggregate to set up a playoff against Club Brugge. Pafos beat Dynamo Kyiv 2–0 (3–0 agg) to earn a tie with Red Star Belgrade, Copenhagen thrashed Malmö 5–0 to face Basel, Qarabag routed Shkendija to meet Ferencvaros, and Kairat Almaty edged Slovan Bratislava on penalties to book a clash with Celtic.
