Mourinho’s Fenerbahce paired with Feyenoord in Champions League qualifying. Benfica gets Nice
NYON, Switzerland (AP) — José Mourinho will take his Fenerbahce team to Feyenoord in the Champions League third qualifying round after the draw was made Monday.
Fenerbahce, which finished runner-up in the Turkish league, will go to Rotterdam for the first leg on Aug. 5 or 6 and host the return in Istanbul on Aug. 12.
The winner will advance to a qualifying playoffs round in August with a place in the lucrative 36-team league phase at stake.
In other pairings between teams that did not win their domestic league, Benfica will play the first leg at Nice and the winner of the second qualifying round clash between Salzburg and Brann will host Club Brugge in the first leg.
Benfica and Salzburg — which plays the first leg against Brann in Norway on Wednesday — have an early start to their European season after returning from the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.
Benfica’s season ended June 28, losing to eventual champion Chelsea in the round of 16, and Salzburg played until June 26 in the group stage.
Also in the Champions League qualifying section for non-champions, the winner between Rangers and Panathinaikos will advance to play Viktoria Plzen or Servette.
Games in the second qualifying round are completed July 30,
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