Jose Mourinho suffered his first setback since joining Fenerbahce, unable to overturn a 2-1 deficit against Lille and eliminated from the Champions League in the third qualifying round after a 1-1 draw in extra time that closed all options for the Turkish team.
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Fenerbahce relied heavily on Mourinho to achieve a record they had not achieved since the 2008/09 season, the last in which they played in the Champions League group stage.
The Portuguese coach, accustomed to reaching the top of any European competition in almost all of his clubs, seemed the right man to return the Ottoman team to the top line. In fact, he had just finished three seasons at Roma, winning a Conference League and finishing runner-up in the Europa League.
Jose Mourinho.
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However, Mourinho, despite the expectations that Fenerbahce fans had placed on him, deflated the balloon in the run-up to a duel that seemed crucial for his club.
“Fenerbahce never told me that playing in the Champions League was a necessity”he warned. Nevertheless, he tried by all means to achieve excellence and after winning his first match in the Turkish League he concentrated all his players to face a very difficult match in which he had to come back after losing 2-1 in the first leg.
Against a furious opponent, Lille held off the onslaught of Fenerbahce, who spent 48 million euros this summer to bring in names such as En-Nesyri, Söyüncü, Saint-Maximin, Krunic, Aydin and Tosun, among others.
Goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier was on hand to stop all of Fenerbahce’s attempts, with shots from Mert Yandas and Ismail Yuksek making saves. Even the post, which repelled a Bright Osayi-Samuel clash with seven minutes remaining, was on Lille’s side, but they eventually conceded in added time thanks to an own goal from Bafode Diakite.
Jose Mourinho.
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Fenerbahce achieved their objective. They managed to extend the game with a frenzied crowd that smelled blood and reached its ecstasy with the expulsion of Aïssa Mandi with a straight red card. With one more player for almost the entire second half of extra time, Mourinho and his players had a chance.
However, a handball by Alexander Djiku reviewed by the VAR gave way to a penalty that Jonathan David did not miss: in the 116th minute he established the final 1-2 to the despair of Mourinho, who suffered his first setback after saying goodbye to a competition that will have to wait for Fenerbahce.
EFE
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