Fenerbahce kicked off their revamped Europa League campaign with a 2-1 victory over Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise at home on Thursday, with both teams ending the match with 10 players.
Defender Caglar Soyuncu put Jose Mourinho’s side ahead in the 26th minute with a close-range half-volley, and an own goal by Union’s Christian Burgess in the 82nd minute doubled Fenerbahce’s lead. Ross Sykes pulled one back for the visitors during stoppage time.
Union’s Kevin Mac Allister was shown a red card in the 74th minute, and Fenerbahce’s substitute Bright Osayi-Samuel was also sent off in the dying moments of the game.
Last season, Fenerbahce knocked out Union Saint-Gilloise in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Conference League.
Europe’s second-tier competition is familiar ground for Jose Mourinho, who guided Manchester United to the 2017 Europa League title. Mourinho took over as Fenerbahce’s manager in the offseason, after leading Roma to the 2023 Europa League final, where they lost to Sevilla in a penalty shootout.
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In another early match, Rangers secured a 2-0 victory against Malmo. Nedim Bajrami opened the scoring in the first minute, and Ross McCausland added a second-half goal.
Rangers fell to Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2022 Europa League final, and the German club is set to face Czech side Viktoria Plzen later on Thursday.
In London, Tottenham’s match against Qarabag was delayed by 35 minutes due to travel disruption. Roma will face Athletic Bilbao in one of the other late fixtures.
Similar to the Champions League, the traditional group stage of the Europa League has been replaced by an expanded league format. All 36 teams now compete in a single standings table, with each team playing eight matches against eight different opponents, running through January 30.
