Slavia Prague 1-2 Fenerbahce: Mourinho's men complete comeback win in feisty affair
Fenerbahce staged a comeback to secure a 2-1 victory over Slavia Prague in the UEFA Europa League, marking only the second occasion in seven encounters that the hosts have suffered defeat against Turkish teams.
The hosts took an early lead just seven minutes into the match when Tomas Chory executed a precise first-time finish from Lukas Provod’s low cross, marking his 10th goal in all competitions this season.
Goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic was then called into action to thwart attempts from Jan Boril and David Doudera as the hosts relentlessly pressed forward.
Fenerbahce posed their own threat, necessitating a crucial last-minute intervention from Tomas Holes to prevent Edin Dzeko from having a clear opportunity to score.
Slavia Prague quickly resumed their offensive efforts with crosses, yet Doudera and Chory both failed to capitalize on the quality deliveries, missing two opportunities each.
This missed chance proved costly in the 35th minute when a rapid Fenerbahce counterattack concluded with Dzeko maneuvering past Boril and unleashing a powerful shot that eluded Antonin Kinsky.
Provod, who had earlier provided some of the crosses, believed he had restored his team’s advantage with a volley that nestled inside the post, only for the goal to be disallowed due to Chory being in an offside position.
There were several intense exchanges prior to halftime, and the competitive nature of the match continued as the home team received two yellow cards within the first ten minutes of the second half.
The contest remained balanced, with Doudera presented with a significant opportunity, yet he was unable to capitalize on it.
In the 78th minute, Jose Mourinho opted to introduce Irfan Kahveci and Youssef En-Nesyri in search of a decisive goal. Just seven minutes after his introduction, En-Nesyri was set up by Dusan Tadic and demonstrated his skill by scoring past Kinsky, despite the goalkeeper managing to get a hand on the shot.
Jindrich Trpisovsky promptly made a double substitution in response, but his team could not equalize, suffering their third consecutive defeat in the Europa League and remaining outside the playoff positions.
Conversely, Fenerbahce concluded their three-match winless streak in European competitions, moving up to 15th place and now sitting just two points shy of the automatic qualification spots.
SportsLigue