Fenerbahçe secured a berth in the UEFA Europa League knockout phase Thursday with a 2-1 win against Greek Cypriot Administration's AEK Larnaca in an away match.
The Turkish football club from Istanbul got the narrow win at Larnaca's AEK Arena as Italian forward Joao Pedro scored the opener. Belgium's Michy Batshuayi successfully converted a late penalty for the Yellow Canaries.
AEK Larnaca's Ivan Trickovski scored from the penalty spot in minute 52. Larnaca's defender Angel Garcia was sent off after being booked for a second time in the 85th minute for a foul on Uruguayan forward Diego Rossi.
Fenerbahçe forward Enner Valencia missed an opportunity to increase the lead when he missed from the penalty spot.
Fenerbahçe is atop Group B with 10 points and leading on goal average after four matches.
Following a 1-0 win against Dynamo Kyiv from Ukraine in Poland's Krakow, Rennes also has 10 points in the group.
The French club is in second place. AEK Larnaca has three points. Dynamo Kyiv is at the bottom of the group with zero points.
AEK Larnaca and Dynamo Kyiv still have a chance to qualify for the third-tier UEFA Europa Conference League.
Fenerbahçe will take on Rennes in Istanbul on Oct. 27 in the next fixture. The match may shape the top of Group B.
The winners in each group from A to H will advance to the Europa League Round of 16. The runners-up will play a knockout round playoff with eight third-placed clubs in the UEFA Champions League group stage.
The draw features 16 teams in the playoffs, which will be played before the last 16.
Eight third-placed teams in the Europa League group stage will make their way to the third-tier UEFA Europa Conference League's playoffs.
Another Turkish club in the Europa League, Trabzonspor hammered Monaco 4-0 at home to climb above the Ligue 1 side into second in Group H.
As for Türkiye’s teams playing in the Europa Conference League, Başakşehir and Sivasspor beat their opponents.
Başakşehir eased past Latvia’s RFS with a 3-0 win, while Sivasspor came back to secure a 2-1 win over Kosovo’s Ballkani.
