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Mourinho’s Fenerbahce Rallies with 5 Goals to Beat Feyenoord in Champions League Qualifying 

Fenerbahce’s players celebrate after winning the UEFA Champions League 3rd round second leg football match between Fenerbahce and Feyenoord at the Fenerbahce Sükrü Saracoglu Sport Complex in Istanbul on August 12, 2025. (AFP)
Fenerbahce’s players celebrate after winning the UEFA Champions League 3rd round second leg football match between Fenerbahce and Feyenoord at the Fenerbahce Sükrü Saracoglu Sport Complex in Istanbul on August 12, 2025. (AFP)
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Mourinho’s Fenerbahce Rallies with 5 Goals to Beat Feyenoord in Champions League Qualifying 

Fenerbahce’s players celebrate after winning the UEFA Champions League 3rd round second leg football match between Fenerbahce and Feyenoord at the Fenerbahce Sükrü Saracoglu Sport Complex in Istanbul on August 12, 2025. (AFP)
Fenerbahce’s players celebrate after winning the UEFA Champions League 3rd round second leg football match between Fenerbahce and Feyenoord at the Fenerbahce Sükrü Saracoglu Sport Complex in Istanbul on August 12, 2025. (AFP)

Jose Mourinho is now one round away from taking Fenerbahce back into the Champions League for the first time in 17 years.

The storied coach's team surged into the Champions League qualifying playoffs by overturning a two-goal deficit on aggregate Tuesday with a 5-2 win against Feyenoord coached by Robin van Persie.

Fenerbahce advanced 6-4 on aggregate score and next faces Benfica — where Mourinho got his first head coach job 25 years ago — with a place in the 36-team league phase at stake.

The first leg is in Istanbul on Wednesday next week with the return on Aug. 27 at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon where future two-time Champions League winner Mourinho lasted less than three months in 2000.

Benfica advanced Tuesday after beating Nice 2-0 at home after winning the first leg by the same score in France last week.

Fenerbahce last played in the old group stage of the Champions League in the 2008-09 season and its biggest rival, Galatasaray, already is in the Aug. 28 main draw as the Turkish league champion.

Fenerbahce had lost 2-1 in the Netherlands last week and fell further behind in the second leg of the third qualifying round clash when Feyenoord defender Tsuyoshi Watanabe scored the opener in the 41st minute.

Mourinho saw his players rally quickly with two goals before halftime — the second by Colombia forward Jhon Durán, on a season-long loan from Saudi club Al Nassr. Former Manchester United midfielder Fred padded the lead early in the second half and the scoring was completed by Talisca, another teammate last season of Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr.

Rangers advanced to the playoffs 4-2 on aggregate against Viktoria Plzen despite a 2-1 loss Tuesday in the Czech Republic.

The Scottish club will host the first leg of its playoff next week against Club Brugge, which got three second-half goals in a 3-2 comeback win Tuesday over Salzburg to advance 4-2 on aggregate.

Salzburg was playing in the FIFA Club World Cup just six weeks ago but is unlikely to qualify for the next one in 2029, now missing out on Champions League play for the first time in seven seasons.

Russian-owned Pafos, the champion of Cyprus, beat Dynamo Kyiv of Ukraine 2-0 to advance 3-0 on aggregate. Pafos next faces Red Star Belgrade, the 1991 European Cup winner, which beat Lech Poznan 4-2 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw Tuesday in Serbia.

Copenhagen beat its near neighbor Malmo 5-0, one week after a scoreless draw on the other side of the Oresund Bridge that connects Denmark and Sweden. Copenhagen’s reward is a two-legged playoff against Swiss champion Basel.

Qarabag of Azerbaijan routed North Macedonian champion Shkendija 5-1 Tuesday, and 6-1 on aggregate, to earn a playoff against Ferencvaros, a 3-0 winner in Budapest against Ludogorets of Bulgaria.

Kazakhstan's Kairat Almaty won a penalty shootout at Slovan Bratislava, after the teams were tied 1-1 on aggregate, and next travels across four time zones to Scotland for the playoff first leg against Celtic.

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Sports

Tottenham Signs Savinho from Man City to Take Summer Spending to More Than $400M

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FA Cup - Fifth Round - Newcastle United v Manchester City - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - March 7, 2026 Manchester City's Savinho celebrates scoring their first goal Action Images via Reuters/Craig Brough/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FA Cup - Fifth Round - Newcastle United v Manchester City - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - March 7, 2026 Manchester City's Savinho celebrates scoring their first goal Action Images via Reuters/Craig Brough/File Photo
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Tottenham Signs Savinho from Man City to Take Summer Spending to More Than $400M

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FA Cup - Fifth Round - Newcastle United v Manchester City - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - March 7, 2026 Manchester City's Savinho celebrates scoring their first goal Action Images via Reuters/Craig Brough/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FA Cup - Fifth Round - Newcastle United v Manchester City - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - March 7, 2026 Manchester City's Savinho celebrates scoring their first goal Action Images via Reuters/Craig Brough/File Photo

Tottenham took its summer spending to more than $400 million by signing Brazil winger Savinho from Manchester City on Tuesday in a deal worth 85 million pounds ($115 million).

During this transfer window, Spurs have already brought in Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali from Newcastle for a reported club-record fee of 100 million pounds ($133 million), days after purchasing another midfielder in Mateus Fernandes from West Ham for 85 million pounds (then $113 million).

The summer refresh under Roberto De Zerbi — setting out on his first full season in charge of Tottenham — now includes the 22-year-old Savinho, who joined City in 2024 for 40 million euros ($43.6 million) from sister club Troyes but hasn't lived up to expectations.

He scored two goals in 53 Premier League appearances and didn’t make Brazil’s squad for this year’s World Cup.

Referring to a transfer saga that has lasted most of this summer, Savinho said in a Tottenham statement: “It’s taken a while but I’m very happy to be here.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity at a brilliant club with one of the best managers in the world. As soon as I spoke to the head coach, I knew I had to come. He told me he wants to help me reach the highest level, and I believe we can do that together, as a team,” The Associated Press quoted him as saying.

De Zerbi hailed Savinho's “energy, imagination and quality,” saying: “He has the courage to attack defenders and the ability to change a game with his creativity.”

Tottenham began the Premier League season by fielding a much-changed starting lineup, containing Tonali and fellow new signings Jan Paul van Hecke, Marco Senesi and Andy Robertson, in a 3-0 loss at Brentford.

Spurs are rivaling Chelsea as the heaviest spenders in European soccer this transfer window.

It's another big sale by Man City Recently hired City manager Enzo Maresca said last week that Savinho had told him “since day one” that he wanted to leave.

It's a club-record sale from City, which also allowed Spain captain Rodri to join Barcelona in a deal worth 76.5 million euros ($88.5 million), has sold midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, goalkeeper James Trafford and defender Nathan Ake, and released stalwarts John Stones and Bernardo Silva this offseason.

The only senior outfield addition has been England midfielder Elliot Anderson, for a reported club-record fee of 116 million pounds ($155 million).

The transfer window shuts next Tuesday and there are likely to be a number of incomings at City before then, including potentially Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi.

Sports

Attacking Trio Can Be Chelsea’s Heart, Alonso Says After Debut Win

Football - Premier League - Fulham v Chelsea - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - August 24, 2026 Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso celebrates after the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Fulham v Chelsea - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - August 24, 2026 Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso celebrates after the match. (Reuters)
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Attacking Trio Can Be Chelsea’s Heart, Alonso Says After Debut Win

Football - Premier League - Fulham v Chelsea - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - August 24, 2026 Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso celebrates after the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Fulham v Chelsea - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - August 24, 2026 Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso celebrates after the match. (Reuters)

Chelsea coach Xabi Alonso toasted ‌his winning debut in the Premier League by praising his front line of Joao Pedro, Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer who put on a masterclass of attacking football in a 3-2 London derby win at Fulham on Monday.

"They are going to be a very important part to build around them, to build the team with them," the Spaniard told reporters.

"They need to take responsibility. They need to lead the rest. They need to inspire the rest because if they do great, the other ones will follow."

Joao Pedro put Chelsea ahead after 31 seconds when he latched onto a pass from Palmer, who was back in ‌the kind of ‌dazzling form that stunned the Premier League after his ‌move ⁠from Manchester City ⁠in 2023.

The Brazilian repaid the favor early in the second half when he set up Palmer to make it 3-1 to the visitors with an angled shot that flew between the legs of goalkeeper Bernd Leno.

That was after Rogers – the club’s record signing over the close season from Aston Villa - had marked his debut for the Blues by restoring their lead in the 41st minute.

Goals from Fulham’s ⁠Josh King and Gonzalo Garcia kept the hosts in ‌the game until the end but Chelsea’s ‌18 shots – six on target – helped send the visiting fans home confident of a big ‌improvement on last season’s dismal 10th-place finish.

The Chelsea supporters happily dusted off ‌their Cole Palmer song – something that was not heard much during that last campaign as he struggled with injury.

"I'm very happy for Cole because I have really enjoyed seeing him playing with this dynamism, with this freedom, with this responsibility, helping the team, ‌feeling important, and we need that for the team,” Alonso said.

"If Cole feels this way, we'll have a ⁠better team, a ⁠better Chelsea."

Fulham boss Alvaro Arbeloa - a former Liverpool and Spain teammate of Alonso who was also making his Premier League debut as a coach - said his side had made the challenge of facing Chelsea all the more difficult by conceding so early.

But he praised his players for sticking to his plan for an energetic, high-pressure approach which could have been rewarded with another equalizer to make it 3-3 had Antonee Robinson kept his lob over keeper Robert Sanchez on target.

"My players they did what they had to do," Arbeloa said. "I can’t be happy because we lost this game. We wanted to win for our fans. But I think this is the way that we have to play ... We're going to play in this way ... no matter who is in front of us."

Sports

Roger Federer Is Coming Back to Play at the US Open, but Not Interested in Coming Back to Pro Tennis

Swiss former tennis player Roger Federer (front) arrives to practice on the main court at Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, US, 24 August 2026. (EPA)
Swiss former tennis player Roger Federer (front) arrives to practice on the main court at Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, US, 24 August 2026. (EPA)
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Roger Federer Is Coming Back to Play at the US Open, but Not Interested in Coming Back to Pro Tennis

Swiss former tennis player Roger Federer (front) arrives to practice on the main court at Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, US, 24 August 2026. (EPA)
Swiss former tennis player Roger Federer (front) arrives to practice on the main court at Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, US, 24 August 2026. (EPA)

Roger Federer is actually nervous about his tennis.

The man who won five straight US Open championships during the height of his dominance of the sport is set to play again in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday night for the first time since 2019. And he's not quite sure how the game that perhaps nobody ever made look more elegant will appear now.

“I haven’t played a singles set in, I don’t know, (Hubert) Hurkacz at Wimbledon maybe, so it’s been five years,” Federer said Monday, referring to his 2021 quarterfinal loss in his last Grand Slam match. “I don’t know how it’s going to go tomorrow. So, there is a lot of uncertainty but a lot of happiness that I can return to Arthur Ashe, a place where I have had so many beautiful moments.”

It's only one set of singles in an exhibition against Andy Roddick and one set of doubles with John McEnroe against Roddick and Andre Agassi. The winner of 20 Grand Slam singles titles should be fine for those.

But a return to tennis beyond that, competing in major tennis tournaments in his mid-40s like Venus and Serena Williams?

“No, no, no, no. No, not at all,” Federer said during a news conference. “Thanks for asking. I wasn’t sure if the question was going to get asked, but I’m happy you did so I can clarify in case anybody thought.”

At 45, Federer still looks fit, and said he enjoys working out in the gym. But he said he goes through long stretches where he is rarely on the court.

His lengthy absence from the US Open has done little to dampen his popularity, based on the amount of people around the grounds who were mentioning his name. The appearance of “Roger Federer” up on the big board for all to see again, ahead of his afternoon practice on Ashe, where Federer collected the trophy every year from 2004-08, was a welcome sight for his fans.

The trip to New York is a stop for Federer on his way to Newport, Rhode Island, where he will be enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday.

Federer never really had the chance to say goodbye to New York as a player, because there was no way to know his loss to Grigor Dimitrov in the 2019 quarterfinals would be his last match. He had reached the French Open semifinals and the Wimbledon final earlier that year, falling to Rafael Nadal in Paris and then Novak Djokovic in a fifth-set tiebreaker at the All England Club.

It was easy to imagine him returning to the US Open the next year and making another deep run. But after falling to Djokovic in the semifinals of the Australian Open to begin 2020, he had knee surgery that February, then another procedure in May.

He returned to play in the French Open in 2021 but had to withdraw before his fourth-round match. After the loss to Hurkacz — where he appeared struggling and lost 6-0 in the third set — Federer had another knee surgery that August and knew there would be no more comebacks.

“The knee can’t do it anymore. It’s tired,” he recalled thinking. “The mind can’t be patient even more and wait for another couple years and see what happens.”

Federer knows Tuesday night won't be real tennis, joking that he and Roddick hopefully would be respectful and not try to drop shot each other. But it will be different from when he did return to Ashe a couple of years back to watch.

“They gave me an ovation because they saw me on the big screen, but I just feel, like, tomorrow and I guess today, as well, and Monday next week, it really gives me a true opportunity to say thank you and goodbye, which I think is important for some,” Federer said. "It’s a nice thing to do, for sure."