Mourinho dashes Feyenoord’s CL dreams with comeback in Istanbul

Feyenoord were dumped out of the Champions League by Fenerbahçe on a dramatic night in Istanbul, as their old adversary José Mourinho gave them a lesson in counter-attacking.

Leading 2-1 from the first leg thanks to Anis Hadj-Moussa’s late header, the Rotterdammers extended their advantage late in the first half, but were pegged back before the interval and then paid the price for some slack defending.

The opening goal came in bizarre circumstances, as goalkeeper İrfan Eğribayat mistook whistling in the crowd for the referee’s whistle and picked up the ball well outside the penalty area.

Robin van Persie’s side were awarded a free-kick which Hwang In-Boem swung in perfectly for summer signing Tsuysohi Watanabe to nod past Eğribayat into the near corner.

But three minutes later Fenerbahçe replied with a header from a corner by Archie Brown, before Jhon Dhuran levelled the aggregate score with a goal just before the half-time whistle.

Feyenoord had good chances to restore their lead after the break, but it was the home side who struck again as Brown caught Jordan Lotomba dithering on the ball, giving Fred the chance to charge forward and fire a long-range shot into the top corner.

Fenerbahçe had to soak up more pressure, with Ayase Ueda going closest in the 81st minute, before Brown outpaced Lotomba on the left before crossing for Youssef En-Neysri to put the tie seemingly out of reach.

Watanabe gave Feyenoord hope when he pounced on a loose ball a minute from time, only for Talisca to have the last word after Lotomba’s headed clearance fell straight into the Brazilian’s path.

Feyenoord will now drop down into the Europa League, joining Utrecht and Go Ahead Eagles, while Fenerbahçe will take on either Benfica or Nice for a place in the lucrative Champions League group stage.