August 07, (THEWILL) – Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce suffered a 2-1 defeat against Lille in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League third round qualifier on Tuesday. The Turkish side now faces an uphill battle to keep their qualification hopes alive.
Lille took an early lead through Tiago Santos, but Irfan Kahveci equalised for Fenerbahce with a superb free-kick in the second half. However, Edon Zhegrova’s injury-time winner gave the French team the advantage heading into the second leg.
Mourinho, who took charge of Fenerbahce in June 2024, remains optimistic about his team’s chances in the return fixture. “It is 2-1 at half-time (after first leg) so let us go to Kadikoy (Fenerbahce’s stadium),” the Portuguese manager said in his post-match press conference.
The winner of this tie will progress to the UCL play-offs, where they will face either Slavia Prague or Union Saint-Gilloise. The second leg is scheduled for 13 August 2024.
In other qualifying matches, Rangers drew 1-1 with Dynamo Kyiv, Malmo and PAOK ended 2-2, and Red Bull Salzburg defeated Twente 2-1 at home.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
