Two days after Benfica knocked Fenerbahce out of the Champions League playoffs, the Turkish champions fired Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho, according to a statement released on Friday.
Mourinho was fired shortly after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a different manager from Manchester United, was fired by Portuguese outfit Benfica, whose side were knocked out on Wednesday.
Besiktas lost to Lausanne on Thursday, and the third-tier UEFA Conference League league stage was also missed.
Fenerbahce announced Mourinho’s departure in a quick statement.
“We have parted ways with Jose Mourinho, who has been our professional A team’s head coach since the 2024-2025 season. We applaud him for his contributions to our team and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.
The former Chelsea, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, and Roma coach, who joined the club in June 2024, led Istanbul’s Yellow Canaries to second place in the league last year, behind Galatasaray.
The self-declared “Special One” received a rockstar’s welcome from fans dressed in Fenerbahce’s yellow and black when the 62-year-old arrived in Istanbul 14 months ago.
No commitments,” The main goal, however, is to win the Turkish Super Lig, according to the two-time Champions League champion coach when he arrived.
However, he was unable to fulfill his goal of reversing the club’s ongoing title drought that had been a problem since 2014.
Mourinho also faced a number of setbacks while he was in Istanbul, despite his recent success as a coach at Spurs, Roma, and now Fenerbahce.
After losing to Galatasaray 2-1 in the Turkish Cup quarter-finals, he tweaked his nose and grabbed Okan Buruk’s face in April.
He was fined for remarks made following another enthralling derby game against Galatasaray, in which he also criticized Turkish referees and accused the fourth referee of bias.
His statements were deemed to be “contrary to sporting ethics.”
With a dazzling second-round victory over Australia’s Alexei Popyrin on Thursday, Jannik Sinner firmly defended his goal to win back-to-back US Open titles.
Popyrin defeated the Italian world number one in 6-3, 6-2, and 6-2, in just two hours and one minute.
Similar speed was displayed by Sinner against Popyrin, who only lost four games in his opening round victory over Vit Kopriva on Tuesday.
As he moved past his 36th-ranked opponent, the 24-year-old broke Popyrin five times.
On Saturday, Sinner will face Denis Shapovalov, a Canadian 27th seed, in the third round.
Read more about the Teenage Cyclist’s Death After a Junior Vuelta Crash here.
On day five of the US Open tennis competition at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City on August 28, 2025, Italy’s Jannik Sinner (L) and Australia’s Alexei Popyrin exchange hands after defeating him in their second-round match. (Photo by Kena Betancur/AFP)
The first round match is always different from the next match (in the tournament),” Sinner said.
“I’m very pleased that I handled these matches as effectively as I could. You make an effort to serve as best you can when you are up two sets and a break.
“It seemed like neither of us served well today, but I was back well, especially after the second serve. I’m pleased with today. I want to get better at the serve, but I’m already pretty good at the other half of my game.
Sinner has won the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, either in the wake of Carlos Alcaraz’ defeat at the French Open. This is his third Grand Slam final.
Roger Federer won the final of five consecutive US Open titles in 2008, and he is aiming to become the first man to do so successfully.
Real Madrid and Manchester City will square off against each other in the Champions League this season, while title-holders Paris Saint-Germain were given a difficult list of opponents in Thursday’s draw, including Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Real will host Premier League champions Liverpool at Anfield in one of the most memorable games of the season, under Xabi Alonso’s leadership.
Liverpool, which finished first in the league phase last year before being beaten by PSG in the last 16, will also face Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven, and Qarabag of Azerbaijan at home.
Additionally, they must travel to Galatasaray, Eintracht Frankfurt, Marseille, and Inter Milan, the country’s champion.
Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Napoli, and Galatasaray will all welcome City, who won the Champions League in 2023, to the Etihad Stadium.
They’ll also travel to Monaco, Monaco, and Bodo/Glimt, a Norwegian newcomer, in addition to Real.
PSG will host Bayern Munich and travel to Barcelona, while the French side will face Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur at home.
Luis Enrique’s team won the Champions League last year, but only after struggling through some challenging games in the league phase, where they finished 15th overall.
They also face Atalanta at home, Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon, and Athletic Bilbao away, so it’s not obvious which matches are going on this time.
READ ALSO:  , Sinner, and Swiatek Rumble Through The US Open as Gauff Struggles
Before the draw for the group stage of the 2025-2026 UEFA Champions League football tournament, which takes place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on August 28, 2025, UEFA Deputy Secretary General Giorgio Marchetti (C) delivers a speech next to AC Milan’s Swedish senior advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic (L) and former Brazilian football player Kaka (R). (Photo by Frederic DIDES/AFP)
In the new format of Europe’s elite club competition, which was introduced last year, every team now plays eight games against eight different opponents. Instead of being divided into groups, all 36 clubs are combined into one league.
The top eight teams advance to the last 16, while those that place between ninth and 24th advance to the knockout round play-offs. The top 12 teams have been eliminated.
Barcelona will travel to both Chelsea and Newcastle, Arsenal will travel to Bayern and Atletico, and Inter Milan and Bilbao must also be on the radar.
Kazakh Kairat Almaty, who defeated Celtic on penalties in the play-off round, will face Real and travel to London to face Arsenal. At home, Pafos of Cyprus will face Bayern at Chelsea.
The first round of games will span three days, September 16 to 18, so UEFA is not anticipated to release specific fixture dates until Friday at the earliest. January 28 is the day before the eighth and final matchday.
The Champions League final will take place on May 30th, 2018, in Budapest, Hungary, with UEFA revealing on Thursday that the game will begin at 6:00 pm local time rather than the customary 9:00 pm.
Chris Froome, a four-time Tour de France champion, was taken to the hospital and has undergone surgery after suffering a number of injuries in a southern French training accident, according to his Israel-Premier Tech team’s report on Thursday.
Following a collision close to Toulon, the 40-year-old British rider was taken to a hospital on Wednesday afternoon by helicopter.
Chris Froome was taken to a hospital in Toulon yesterday afternoon following a serious training accident (no other cyclists or vehicles were involved), his team announced in a social media post.
Chris will have surgery this afternoon for a pneumothorax, five broken ribs, and a lumbar vertebrae fracture, but fortunately he is stable and hasn’t suffered any head injuries.
Following surgery, we will update Chris’ condition.
Read more about the Teenage Cyclist’s Death After a Junior Vuelta Crash here.
According to French newspaper L’Equipe, Froome was able to speak to medical staff and was conscious when she arrived.
Froome, who has been a member of the Israel-Premier Tech team since 2021, recently participated in the Tour of Poland and placed 68th overall.
Froome, who enjoyed his best moments with Team Sky, hasn’t been able to return to his best form since crashing heavily at the Criterium du Dauphine in 2019.
To “enhance the matchday experience,” UEFA announced on Thursday that the Champions League final will take place at 6:00 pm instead of 21:00 pm.
On May 30th, the Puskas Arena will host the 2026 final.
According to Ronan Evain, executive director for Football Supporters Europe, which worked on the subject with UEFA, “an earlier kick-off makes day trips more feasible, reduces travel stress, and allows fans to enjoy the occasion without worrying about late-night logistics.”
READ ALSO:  , Sinner, and Swiatek Rumble Through The US Open as Gauff Struggles
The Champions League showpiece has been held on Saturdays since 2010 in contrast to the midweek Europa League and Conference League finals.
Despite having a 21:00 CET kick-off, a Saturday final kick-off means an earlier finish, regardless of penalties or extra time, according to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.
Inter Milan defeated 5-0 in Munich to win Paris Saint-Germain’s first European Cup victory in the final of the previous campaign.
As Novak Djokovic overcame a first-round scare to advance to the third round of the US Open, Carlos Alcaraz won the match on Wednesday with a blistering straight-sets victory.
In one hour and 36 minutes, Alcaraz defeated Italian Mattia Bellucci 6-1, 6 0, 6-3, 6-3 on the Arthur Ashe Stadium main court. Alcaraz faces Djokovic in the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows.
The 22-year-old Spanish second seed defeated the 65th-ranked Bellucci, whose best Grand Slam performance came with a bid to Wimbledon’s third round earlier this year. The 22-year-old unfurled a string of 32 winners in a dominant display.
Alcaraz, who will face 32nd seed Luciano Darderi, another Italian, in the next round, said, “I played great, to be honest, from the beginning until the last ball.
He continued, “The sooner I go to bed early the more time I spend in court.”
On day four of the US Open tennis competition, which takes place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on August 27, 2025, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz plays a backhand return to Italy’s Mattia Bellucci. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP)
After falling four sets to American qualifier Zachary Svajda, Serbian legend Djokovic kept his goal of a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam singles title alive.
However, Djokovic was forced to redouble after losing the first set before coming away with a 7-6 (5/7), 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win.
READ MORE: Sinner, Swiatek Rally Through US Open As Gauff Struggles
Djokovic, 38, stated that he is hoping to improve as the tournament progresses even though he isn’t at his best.
He said, “The more I get into the tournament, the better I feel about my game.”
With his victory, Djokovic will advance to the third round of the US Open, where he will face Britain’s Cameron Norrie, who defeated argentine Francisco Comesana 7-6 (7 / 5), 6-3, 6-7 (0 / 7), 7-6 (7 / 4), in a record-equal 19th time.
On day four of the US Open tennis competition at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on August 27, 2025, Novak Djokovic, a Serbian tennis champion, defeats Zachary Svajda of the United States in the men’s singles second round of tennis. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP)
Casper Ruud, the 2022 US Open finalist, lost to Belgium’s Raphael Collignon on Wednesday in other men’s tennis matches, falling 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Fourth seed Taylor Fritz defeated South African qualifier Lloyd Harris 4-6, 7-6 (7 / 3), 6-2, 6-4, while compatriot Frances Tiafoe, a seeded 17, also advanced with a four-set victory over qualifier Martin Damm. Tiafoe won 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5.
Rant ’s “No Class,”
Aryna Sabalenka, the defending champion and world number one, defeated unseeded Russian Polina Kudermetova 7-6 (7/4) 6-2 in the women’s draw.
Sabalenka asserted her control in the second set after taking the first set of a tie-break. In the third round, the Belarusian will face Leylah Fernandez from Canada.
“The first set was extremely aggressive and tight.” I was relieved to be under that pressure and to relieve her. I felt much better in the return game in the second set.
On day four of the US Open tennis competition, which takes place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on August 27, 2025, Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka serves the ball to Russia’s Polina Kudermetova. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP)
In another instance, Taylor Townsend’s 25th-ranked Latvian Jelena Ostapenko drew a vicious on-court tirade at the American before falling 7-5, 6-1.
Ostapenko accused her of lacking “class” during her rant, according to Townsend.
She told me that I had no education, no class, and that I could watch what happens if we played outside of the US, according to Townsend. Although it was unfortunate, I can put it on my TikTok, you know?
Ostapenko expressed anger over Townsend’s inability to acknowledge a net cord during the game on Instagram.
Emma Raducanu of Great Britain continued her strong start to the tournament by defeating Indonesian qualifier Janice Tjen 6-2, 6-1, in straight sets.
In 21 years, Tjen had become the first Indonesian player to reach the main draw of a Grand Slam, and he followed up with a first-round upset win over Veronika Kudermetova, the 24th seed.
But Raducanu, who is aiming to reclaim the US Open title she won as a qualifier aged 18, comfortably outperforms her. Elena Rybakina, the ninth seed, will face Raducanu in the following round.
Tjen’s tournament came to an end as her exit was followed by another Southeast Asian player, Alexandra Eala, who is also from the Philippines.
Cristina Bucsa of Spain defeated Eala 6-4, 6-3 to make history as the first Filipino player to win a Grand Slam singles match since her defeat of 14th seed Clara Tauson on Sunday.
