MONACO: Jose Mourinho and Fenerbahce fell short of returning to the Champions League on Wednesday, losing 1-0 at Benfica in the qualifying playoffs on Wednesday.
Benfica — the first club Mourinho coached — had two goals disallowed on video review in the first half before its Turkish forward Kerem Akturkoglu scored with a rising shot in the 35th minute for the only goal over the two legs.
Club Brugge, Copenhagen and Qarabag of Azerbaijan also advanced to complete the 36-team lineup for the league phase, with the draw being made Thursday.
Mourinho is a two-time Champions League winner but has not coached in the main stage of the marquee competition for six seasons. Fenerbahce’s absence now stretches to 17 seasons.
Brugge routed Rangers 6-0 for an aggregate score of 9-1. The Belgian side already had an early lead before Rangers defender Max Aarons was sent off in the eighth minute.
Qarabag are back in the Champions League eight years after their debut campaign, winning 5-4 on aggregate over Ferencvaros despite a 3-2 loss in Baku on Wednesday.
Copenhagen won 2-0 at home to Basel to advance 3-1 on aggregate.
The draw ceremony starts 6 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) Thursday at a beachside concert hall and conference venue in Monaco.
Who are in the Champions League draw?
A record six teams from England are in the competition this year. More than half — 19 in total — are from the four highest-ranked countries: England, Italy, Spain and Germany.
Newcomers in the main phase are Bodo/Glimt of Norway, Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan, Pafos of Cyprus and Union Saint-Gilloise of Belgium.
The Champions League will go further north than ever before, with Bodo located inside the Arctic Circle, and further east, to Almaty, near
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