Champions League | Can Mourinho lead Fenerbahce to reverse the game in adversity? Can Van Persie defend his advantage?

Fenerbahce lost to Feyenoord 1-2 away in the first leg of the third round of the UEFA Champions League qualifiers in 2025-2026. In the first half, Fenerbahce player Murdu accidentally scored an own goal. As the second half approached, Amrabat got the ball and shot directly, but Feyenoord completed the final kill with Mousa in injury time! In the end, Feyenoord won the first round of the two sides at home, and the second round will be held in the early morning of August 13. The matchup between Fenerbahce and Feyenoord is the most eye-catching game in the entire third round of qualifying match. The first highlight is the battle between the head coaches of both sides. Van Persie had intersected with Mourinho when she was a player. During his time at Arsenal, Mourinho coached Chelsea. Although the two did not directly confront each other, Van Persie, as an Arsenal striker, faced Mourinho's Chelsea many times. When Van Persie played for Fenerbahce, Mourinho coached Manchester United, and the two teams were in the same group.

Feyenoord coach Van Persie took office only in February this year, and has led Feyenoord to 9 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses so far. Feyenoord is the starting point of Van Persie's player era and the last stop of his career. Van Persie officially retired in the summer of 2019, became the head coach of Feyenoord's B team in 2020, and officially became the head coach of Helenfin in 2024, and was also the first team to coach in his coaching career.

Van Persie started coaching his former parent team in the second half of last season. At the end of last season, Van Persie helped Feyenoord win the third place in the league and successfully won the quota for the Champions League qualifying round. The last UEFA Champions League qualifier was Van Persie's first UEFA Champions League game since his coaching. Being able to successfully defeat the team led by famous coach Mourinho at home is also a breakthrough. But the game is a two-round system, and Van Persie's tactics are indeed more successful in the first 90 minutes. I wonder if General Van can withstand Mourinho's counterattack in the next 90 minutes.

Mourinho has rich coaching experience. He has coached Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham, Roma and other giant teams, including coaching Chelsea twice. Except for winning the Champions League championship during his coaching period at Inter Milan, Mourinho never made any other achievements in the Champions League. Mourinho's biggest feature of coaching is that he usually only stays for three years in a team, and the second year is often the year when he leads the team to achieve results. Coincidentally, Fenerbahceu made his second season in coaching.

The level of Mourinho's coaching team has begun to decline in recent years. We find that the teams he coaches in recent times are not the top European teams, and Fenerbahce is not even the top five league teams. Therefore, many people once doubted Mourinho's coaching ability and believed that he could not coach for a long time in a team of giants, but this is his coaching style, which made Mourinho now.

The second highlight is the history of the two teams. The two sides have had four matches in the history of European wars, and each achieved 2 wins and 2 losses. The last time the two sides met was in the 2016-2017 Europa League group stage, when Fenerbahce defeated Feyenoord 1-0 at home and away. The first official match between the two sides also happened in the third round of the Champions League qualifiers, but the one who laughed at the end was Feyenoord. Feyenoord defeated Fenerbahce twice at home and away. It is worth mentioning that Van Persie was also in the Feyenoord team at that time.

The two teams have not lost to each other in their respective home games. I wonder if Fenerbahce can continue this miracle in the next round. In fact, Fenerbahce scored a goal in the first half in the last game, but was sentenced to offside and the goal was invalid, and it became the focus of the game after the game. Although the team lost in the first leg and the team was disappointed with the result of the game, this does not mean that Fenerbahce has no hope. On the contrary, coach Mourinho is full of confidence in the second leg.

The third highlight is whether Fenerbahce can reverse and turn the tables at home. He is also very much looking forward to Feyenoord's devilish home court. Fenerbahce's Sarakoru Stadium is known for its fanatical atmosphere. Its home winning rate reached 75% last season, with an average of 2.3 goals per game. In order to give Fenerbahce enough time to prepare for the second round of the Champions League, the Turkish Football Association even postponed the first round of the league to strive for the team's physical advantage in preparing for the Champions League.

In the offseason, Fenerbahce introduced Skriniar on the defensive end, but his tacit understanding with Semedo is not enough, and the tacit understanding of assisting defense is needed in the next round. Next season is Mourinho's second season in coaching Fenerbahce. The "Music two-year law" is the iron law in recent years. Previously, such magic has been continued at Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid. I wonder if his law can continue as always in Stanbul. In addition, Mourinho has rich experience in European competitions, and a goal gap is not an impossible task. As long as the team implements it according to Mourinho's requirements, I personally think that Fenerbahce has a 60% chance to win the game.

As for Feyenoord, they need to continue their performance in the previous game. After Van Persie took over Feyenoord, he continued the high-pressure pressing tactics of Slot's period, with a 63% first-round pressing success rate, effectively limiting Fenerbahce's midfield organization. In addition, Feyenoord did not take the initiative to fight for possession in the last game, so he would stick to the defensive counterattack strategy in the second leg of Istanbul's safe situation. As a former player of Fenerbahce, Van Persie won all the teams against the Turkish Super League team in the player era. His record of 22 points in the last 8 games also showed his on-the-spot adjustment ability.

Judging from the current situation, both sides still have a chance, and the leading Feyenoord takes the lead. The next game mainly depends on the details of both sides. Fenerbahce's hope for a comeback depends on the early goal. If he can score 30 minutes before the game, he can disrupt Feyenoord's rhythm, and the stability of the defense line is also the stability; Feyenoord needs to hold on to the start and use the counterattack to grab the opponent's gap after he pressed. Although there is suspense in the 1-2 score, Mourinho's obsession with the Champions League and Van Persie's youth storm are destined to be the ultimate battle between tactics and will in the next round.