Fenerbahçe’s 2023-24 campaign began with fireworks, high hopes and the global arrival of Jose Mourinho at the helm – but it closed in a haze of defensive disarray, derby heartbreak and an empty trophy cabinet.
The final blow came in the form of a stunning 4-2 defeat to already-relegated Hatayspor in Week 37, a result that captured the essence of a season that promised glory but delivered regret.
Under Mourinho’s early leadership, Fenerbahçe looked like a title machine, boasting the best defense in the Süper Lig for much of the first half of the season.
But as pressure mounted and the stakes grew, that defensive solidity crumbled.
In their last ten official matches, including league and Turkish Cup games, Fenerbahçe conceded seventeen goals – a collapse that cost them both the league title and a chance at silverware.
During that 10-game stretch, they managed six wins, one draw and three losses, scoring 26 times but leaking goals with alarming consistency.
Galatasaray knocked them out of the Turkish Cup in Kadıköy with a 2-1 victory, Beşiktaş silenced them twice – 1-0 away and 1-0 again at home – and even their draw, a 3-3 rollercoaster against Kayserispor, highlighted the instability at the back.
Despite beating sides like Bodrum FK, Trabzonspor, Sivasspor, Gaziantep FK, Başakşehir and Eyüpspor, Fenerbahçe failed to keep a single clean sheet in any of those 10 matches.
When it came to derbies, the Canaries simply did not rise to the occasion.
In five heated matchups against Galatasaray and Beşiktaş across league and cup competitions, Fenerbahçe mustered just one point – a goalless draw with Galatasaray in the second half of the season.
Every other derby ended in defeat.
They were outscored 7-2 in these games and consistently failed to impose themselves in matches that mattered most to fans and club history alike.
Defensive troubles were not confined to the big games.
Over the course of the league season, Fenerbahçe conceded in both home and away matches against eight different teams: Göztepe, Hatayspor, Kayserispor, Trabzonspor, Gaziantep FK, Beşiktaş, Başakşehir and Eyüpspor.
Against Kayserispor and Hatayspor alone, they allowed five goals each, while Göztepe put four past them across two meetings.
