PARIS
Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce might have only just squeezed into the Europa League knockout playoff round but are already on the brink of the round of 16.
Fenerbahce dominated to beat Anderlecht 3-0 on Thursday and take a comprehensive lead to Belgium for the second leg next week.
Francisco Moura’s second-half strike earned hosts Porto a 1-1 draw against 10-man AS Roma in a clash between two of Mourinho’s former clubs.
Turkish champions Galatasaray lost 4-1 at AZ Alkmaar as Ajax Amsterdam and Real Sociedad also secured victories.
Fenerbahce, unbeaten across all competitions since mid-December, only just reached the playoffs by placing 24th in the new 36-standings format — the last qualification place, and on a tiebreaker of goal difference.
Anderlecht had finished 10th, only missing out on automatic progression to the last-16 by goal difference.
Fenerbahce took the lead in the 11th minute through a close-range header from forward Dusan Tadic following a corner.
The hosts survived a scare when the referee consulted VAR about a potential penalty for handball, but it was not given and Edin Dzeko doubled their advantage before the break.
His initial strike was blocked by the Anderlecht defence before the Bosnian striker latched on to the rebound and struck a low shot into the corner of the net.
Morocco forward Youssef En-Nesyri sealed the win in the 57th minute with a fine header and Fenerbahce missed several chances to extend their advantage.
Mourinho won the competition with Porto in 2003 and again with Manchester United in 2017, also reaching the final when he was in charge of Roma two years ago.
