Mourinho's Fenerbahce Beats Anderlecht 3-0 in Europa League Playoff. Porto and Roma Draw 1-1

José Mourinho’s Fenerbahce might have only just squeezed into the Europa League knockout playoff round but it is 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, The Associated Press reported.
Two of Mourinho’s former clubs, Porto and Roma, drew 1-1 in Europe's second-tier competition.
Fenerbahce 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 Thursday. Anderlecht failed to clear a corner and the ball was put back to the area where Yusuf Akçiçek nodded it on for Dusan Tadic to head into the net.
Edin Dzeko doubled his team’s advantage shortly before halftime following good work from Filip Kostic down the left flank. Dzeko’s initial shot was blocked by Anderlecht defender Lucas Hey but the veteran forward fired home the rebound.
Youssef En-Nesyri added a third with a powerful header in the 57th minute and Fenerbahce missed several chances to extend its advantage.
Notably, Yusuf Akçiçek’s header was deflected onto the post — it would have been the 19-year-old's first career goal, after recording his first-ever assist in the first half.
Dutch club AZ Alkmaar also has a healthy advantage to take into next week's second leg after it beat 10-man Galatasaray 4-1.
Dybala injured Key Roma forward Paulo Dybala limped off in the first half of the match in Portugal with a knee injury.
Dybala had yelled out in agony when his knee felt the full force of Porto midfielder Alan Varela’s boot in the 20th minute but the Argentina World Cup winner had played on for another 15 minutes before admitting defeat.
Roma took the lead with practically the last kick of the first half, with defender Zeki Celik scoring his first goal for the club.
Porto leveled against the run of play in the 67th minute through Francisco Moura’s deflected shot.
Roma midfielder Bryan Cristante was sent off five minutes later following a second booking.
Teenager scores for Ajax Ajax won 2-0 at Union Saint-Gilloise, with 16-year-old Jorthy Mokio netting his side’s second goal.
Mokio scored in the 71st minute. A corner was cleared but only as far as the Belgium Under-21 international on the edge of the area and he volleyed it in for his first goal for the senior Ajax team.
Mokio, aged 16 years and 350 days, became the youngest player to score in a knockout stage match in the Europa League, UEFA said.
Christian Rasmussen had netted the opener in 59th.
Elsewhere, Real Sociedad won 2-1 at Midtjylland and Ferencvaros beat Viktoria Plzen 1-0. Romanian team FCSB came from behind to win 2-1 at PAOK and a stoppage-time penalty saw Twente beat Bodo/Glimt by the same scoreline.
Another youngest goalscorer record Sixteen-year-old Michael Noonan netted on his Shamrock Rovers debut to help the Irish team win 1-0 at 10-man Molde.
That made Noonan, at 16 years, 197 days, the youngest-ever goalscorer in a European club competition, his team said.
Noonan scored from close range in the 57th minute. He also forced a red card for Molde defender Valdemar Lund for a last-man foul, three minutes before halftime.
Víkingur Reykjavík became the first-ever Icelandic club to win a European knockout match by upsetting Panathinaikos 2-1. The match was held in Helsinki as no stadium in Iceland met the requirements to host the game.
Armandas Kučys scored twice but also missed a late penalty as Celje drew 2-2 against 10-man APOEL. Real Betis recorded a comprehensive 3-0 victory at Gent and Jagiellonia won 3-1 at TSC.
European newcomer Heidenheim fought back to win 2-1 at Copenhagen, Omonoia and Pafos drew 1-1 in an all-Cypriot matchup.
Borac had a late penalty saved, but scored even later, to beat Olimpija 1-0.

Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra met Formula One chief Stefano Domenicali on Tuesday and said the government would commission a feasibility study into hosting a Grand Prix on a Bangkok street circuit from 2028.

Formula One already has a crowded schedule of 24 races around the world with four in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Singapore Grand Prix in Southeast Asia.

Thailand has an FIA accredited track in Buriram in the northeast of the country, which currently hosts a round of the MotoGP motorcycling world championships, but the proposal is for a street race in the kingdom's capital.

"We had the opportunity to discuss the opportunity of Thailand to host the Formula 1 race, which is a great sport with a worldwide following," the Thai Prime Minister posted on X after the meeting with Domenicali at Government House.

"The government confirmed that it will study this joint investment, including the study of the race route, the investment budget, and the value for Thailand to receive from hosting the race."

Paetongtarn said she thought hosting a race would be an opportunity to upgrade Bangkok's infrastructure -- the city's roads are notoriously clogged -- and attract more tourists from abroad, particularly visitors in the "high-end" market.

"I believe that all Thai people will benefit from organizing this event, whether it is large-scale infrastructure investment, job creation, new income generation, and importing new technologies and innovations," she added.

"I am confident that this project will be successful. It is another important opportunity for the country to organize a world-class event."

Formula One chief executive Domenicali also posted a statement on X, describing the plans for a Bangkok race as "impressive". "I am looking forward to continuing our discussions in the weeks and months ahead," the Italian added.

Mourinho's Fenerbahce Beats Anderlecht 3-0 in Europa League Playoff. Porto and Roma Draw 1-1