Lille pulled off a dramatic comeback to eliminate Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce from the Champions League qualifiers. The French side secured a 3-2 aggregate victory after a thrilling 1-1 draw in the second leg in Turkey.
Fenerbahce looked set to overturn the 2-1 deficit from the first leg when Bafode Diakite’s own goal in the dying minutes forced extra time. However, Lille’s resilience shone through as substitute Aissa Mandi was sent off before Jonathan David converted a penalty to secure their passage to the play-offs.
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The victory sets up a clash with either Slavia Prague or Union Saint-Gilloise for a place in the group stage. Meanwhile, Mourinho faces a challenging start to his Fenerbahce tenure with elimination from Europe.
He said after the game, “We would never reach the Champions League final. Never. But we go to Europa League and in Europa League if… if… I don’t want to say the rest. I prefer to stay on the ifs.
“I can’t speak more than the if. If not, I am in trouble. If you want to know more about the ifs. I invite you watch Roma-Sevilla in the Europa League final 2022-2023 and you understand the ifs.”
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