Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce held his former club Manchester United to a 1-1 draw in the Europa League on Thursday, October 24, 2024. Mourinho received a red card in the second half, but his team managed to secure a point against a superior United squad.
Erik ten Hag’s United took an early lead through Christian Eriksen’s 15th-minute goal. However, Fenerbahce equalized in the 49th minute when Youssef En-Nesyri headed home from close range after a cross from Allan Saint-Maximin.
Mourinho was sent off after his team was denied a penalty in the second half. The Portuguese manager expressed his frustration with the referee’s decision, stating that his players had performed admirably despite facing a stronger opponent.
“My boys played an amazing match,” Mourinho told TNT Sports. “We played against a team that is at a superior level to us. We finished the game with a center-back playing at right-back and a right-back at left-back. We had to do a crazy puzzle, but our performance was extraordinary, and I couldn’t ask for anything more from the players.”
Mourinho led United to the Europa League title in 2017 during his 2½ years at Old Trafford. He took the Fenerbahce job in the past offseason.
Elsewhere in the Europa League, Richarlison scored a 53rd-minute penalty for Tottenham to beat Alkmaar 1-0. Tottenham’s Son Heung-min sat out the match due to a minor injury.
Anderlecht and Lazio stayed perfect with 2-0 victories, with both opponents reduced to 10 men. Anderlecht beat Ludogorets at home after Caio Vidal was sent off. Lazio took home three points from Twente when goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall was sent off in the 11th minute.
Porto’s Samu scored his fourth goal of the campaign, and Tiago Djaló added another one for Porto to beat Hoffenheim 2-0 for the Portuguese club’s first win of the campaign.
Václav Černý scored two goals to lead Rangers to a 4-0 rout of FCSB, while Lyon was upset 1-0 at home by Besiktas.
Roma needed a penalty to beat Dynamo Kyiv 1-0 for its first Europa League victory under new coach Ivan Jurić. Summer signing Artem Dovbyk converted from the spot in the 23rd minute to get the Italian team in the win column after a draw and a loss in the second-tier competition.
Ajax beat Qarabag 3-0 in Baku after the home team was reduced to 10 men in the 15th minute when midfielder Júlio Romão received a straight red card. Kenneth Taylor scored some 20 minutes later. In the second half, Wout Weghorst converted a penalty, and substitute Chuba Akpom put the result beyond doubt in the 77th. Two minutes later, Qarabag went down to nine men when Elvin Jafarguliyev also saw a red card.
Eintracht Frankfurt, the 2022 Europa League winner, got a late goal from substitute Hugo Larsson to edge Latvia’s RFS 1-0. PAOK came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw with Czech side Viktoria Plzen in Thessaloniki. Real Sociedad earned its first win, 2-1 away to Maccabi Tel-Aviv in a game played in Belgrade, Serbia due to the regional conflict.
In the Conference League, Chelsea routed Panathinaikos 4-1 in Athens to make it two wins from two. João Félix scored twice, with the first one set up by Mykhailo Mudryk in the 22nd minute. The visitors added three more in the first 14 minutes of the second half through Mudryk, Felix’s second, and Christopher Nkunku’s penalty. Facundo Pellistri netted for Panathinaikos in the 69th.
Jonathan Ikoné’s two goals led Fiorentina past St. Gallen 4-2 in Switzerland, and Real Betis played 1-1 with Copenhagen. Iceland’s Vikingur beat Belgium’s Cercle Brugge 3-1 to record its first victory in Europe.
