The Champions League qualifying play-off rounds end today, Wednesday, August 27, with four places for the League Phase still up for grabs. Three teams earned their place in the Champions League on Tuesday: Kairat from Kazakhstan, Pafos from Cyprus, and Bodo/Glimt from Norway. And four more will be decided today, among those, one of the historically best teams from the European Cup, Benfica.
Sport Lisboa e Benfica, from the Portuguese capital, did not secure their place in Champions League as they finished only two points below Primeira Liga winners Sporting Lisbon, which meant they had to earn their spot in play-offs. And they have a tough rival, Fenerbahçe. In Turkey, they got a 0-0 draw in the first leg, which means everything will be decided today, at 21:00 CEST, 20:00 BST, at Estádio da Luz.
Benfica is historically one of the better teams in the European Cup, winning in 1961 (beating Barcelona) and in 1962 (beating Real Madrid) and reaching the final five other times, 1963, 1965, 1968, 1988, 1990. While it's been a while since then, it still places the Lisbon club eighth in the top ten teams from European Cup/Champions League.
However, their rival will be none other than Fenerbahçe... managed by José Mourinho, the Portuguese manager whose managerial career started, precisely, at Benfica in 2000, even if he achieved greater success with Porto a few years later. Recently, 'Mou' has said his intention to return to Portugal... but, for now, remains in charge of the Turkish team, whose best performance at Champions League was reaching quarter-finals in 2007/08.
All Champions League play-offs for Wednesday August 27
Qarabağ vs Ferencváros (18:45 CEST, aggregate3-1)
Copenhagen vs Basel (21:00 CEST, aggregate 1-1)
Benfica vs Fenerbahçe (21:00 CEST, aggregate 0-0)
Club Brugge vs Rangers (21:00 CEST, aggregate 3-1)
After tonight's fixtures, the draw for Champions League will take place on August 28 at 18:00 CEST. The losers of the play-off will go to Europa League - league phase instead.