Fenerbahçe threw caution to the wind for the UEFA Europa League second leg against Sevilla on Thursday, but despite their valiant 1-0 home victory, they were unable to secure a place in the quarterfinals.
After losing 2-0 in the first match of the last 16 round, the Yellow Canaries were unable to advance.
Fenerbahçe had started their journey by eliminating Slovacko in the qualifying rounds and then passed Austria Wien in the playoffs to reach the groups.
They faced Rennes, AEK Larnaca, and Dynamo Kyiv in Group B, winning four games and drawing two, ultimately finishing at the top of their group with 14 points.
However, despite Enner Valencia's 41st-minute penalty conversion, Fenerbahçe were unable to overturn the two-goal deficit from the reverse fixture.
Valencia's goal marked the Ecuadorian's third goal of the season in the UEFA Europa League and his 27th goal in total as a Yellow Canary.
Fenerbahçe coach Jorge Jesus spoke at a news conference after his team's elimination from the tournament, expressing pride in his players for their performance. "I am proud of my players for the performance of my team. We played a good match, but we could not pass the round," he said. He felt that their performance reflected the quality of top European teams but was disappointed that they were unable to advance to the next round.
Jesus was unhappy though with the fans' actions and the items they threw onto the field, which disrupted Fenerbahçe's rhythm and played into Sevilla's hands. Despite this setback, Jesus believed that Fenerbahçe played their best game this year and were the superior side in both halves of the match.
He vehemently disagreed with Sevilla's coach Jorge Sampaoli's claim that the Spanish side had the upper hand in both legs of the match. "We were superior in the first half, they were superior in the second half and they scored two goals. I do not agree with his comment about today," he said.
Jesus also expressed his disapproval of the fans' calls for the resignation of club president Ali Koç. "I did not understand the reactions to the president after the match. If it happened after this match, I think it is unfair. Fenerbahçe has a very good president. I worked with the president and I know he is a very good president. Fenerbahçe should be grateful for that. I have been here for eight months and I can say that he is the best president I have ever worked with," he said.
He underscored the significance of winning the remaining games and shifting emphasis to securing the Süper Lig title and pocketing the Turkish Cup.
