Results for the knockout phase play-offs for the first leg. Image : Europa League shared via X
(The Post News)- Real Sociedad defeated Midtjylland 2-1 on the road, while Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce defeated Anderlecht 3-0 in the first leg of their Europa League knockout round play-offs match on Thursday.
Morocco international Youssef En-Nesyri headed in a third goal for the Turkish team, giving them complete control after former Premier League players Dusan Tadic and Edin Dzeko gave Fenerbahce the lead in the first half.
When Mourinho was in charge of Roma two years ago, he made it to the final. He also won the competition with Porto in 2003 and Manchester United in 2017.
After Real Sociedad defeated Danish Midtjylland with a penalty kick from Brais Mendez and a brilliant goal from Japan winger Takefusa Kubo, Midtjylland drew one back through Adam Buksa. Real Sociedad will now travel to Spain in a dominant position.
The winner of the match will face either United or Tottenham in the round of 16.
With a 2-0 victory in Brussels, Ajax grabbed control of their play-off matchup against Union Saint-Gilloise of Belgium. Just before the hour, Christian Rasmussen put the Dutch team ahead, and 16-year-old Jorthy Mokio scored a second goal from 20 yards out.
Ferencvaros defeated Viktoria Plzen 1-0 in Budapest thanks to a strike from Mohammad Abu Fani.
Later on Thursday, Porto, the two-time defending champions, will host Roma, while Galatasaray will travel to AZ Alkmaar.
Irish team Shamrock Rovers defeated Norwegian team Molde 1-0 on the road in the UEFA Conference League. Michael Noonan, who scored the game-winning goal in the second half to become the competition’s youngest scorer at 16 years and 197 days old, was sent off before halftime by Molde defender Valdemar Lund for a challenge on him.
Vikingur Reykjavik of Iceland defeated Panathinaikos 2-1 after the Greeks scored a crucial late penalty kick.
APOEL Nicosia and Celje of Slovenia drew 2-2, while Jesus Imaz, the captain of Jagiellonia Bialystok, scored twice in a 3-1 victory over TSC Backa Topola of Serbia on the road.
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