Both teams came into this contest needing a win to ensure that they finished in the top 24 of the league phase, so the scrappy opening to this match was of no surprise - especially considering the patchy state of the MCH Arena pitch. Lumped balls forward were the order of the day, with set pieces likely to be a major factor, and Midtjylland went in front on 27 minutes after Paulinho had won a corner off Caglar Söyuncu.
The resulting delivery from Aral Smsir – ironically from a family of Fenerbahce fans – was nodded in by centre-back Ousmane Diao, sending the visitors out of the competition as it stood.
After taking the lead, Midtjylland kept them at arm’s length until a swift breakaway brought Fenerbahçe back on level terms. It all came from a sloppy Dario Osorio pass, with fellow South American Fred seizing on it and releasing captain Edin Dzeko, who had room to run into and played an inch-perfect through ball.
That, in turn, was dinked gloriously over Jonas Lossl by Youssef En-Nesyri, putting Fener back into the play-off places heading into the interval.
Despite this new twist, suspended Fener head coach José Mourinho won’t have been too happy with what he had witnessed from the stands. The tables turned early in the second period, however, with Dzeko’s clever near-post run allowing him to stab Sebastian Szymanski’s cross past Lössl. Only sitting in the top 24 courtesy of goal difference at this point, Midtjylland then perhaps thought they would make it 2-2 when Joel Andersson was through on goal, but Irfan Can Egribayat made a vital stop before Adam Gabriel’s follow-up went wide.
Mourinho’s opposite number Thomas Thomasberg made the first three substitutions of the evening with the desire for other results to go Midtjylland’s way painfully apparent, and one of those players brought on, Valdemar Andreasen, duly hammered home after Fener had made a hash of clearing Mads Bech Sorensen’s textbook long throw.
Now those on the Turkish bench were the ones nervously checking the table, but ultimately, the spoils were shared. This was Fener’s sixth match out of seven in 2025 to have featured at least three goals as Mourinho’s men scraped through to the play-offs in 24th, while Midtjylland finished in the relative serenity of 19th.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Edin Dzeko (Fenerbahce)
