Fenerbahce beat PSV Eindhoven 2-0 in their Champions League Group G match on Wednesday to put the Turkish team in a strong position to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition.
Fenerbahce took the lead after 28 minutes through an own goal by PSV defender Dirk Marcellis who deflected a shot from Kazim Kazim into the Eindhoven net.
Two minutes later Kazim's strike partner Semih Senturk doubled their lead, driving a shot beneath goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes after being put through by Brazilian playmaker Alex.
The result left Fenerbahce second in the group on eight points, one point behind Inter Milan who beat CSKA Moscow 4-2. PSV remained third on four points while the Russian side are bottom with just one point and have been eliminated.
'This was a big game and every player fought well and I congratulate them,' said Fenerbahce's Brazilian coach Zico. 'We tried to exert pressure on them throughout and the team got the result they deserved.'
'The victory today was very important in terms of qualifying. Our goal is clearly to be the top team so the remaining two games are just as important,' he said.
Alex, orchestrating the Turkish side's attacks, nearly added a third goal after 34 minutes when he tried to lob the PSV goalkeeper but the ball just cleared the bar.
The home side eased up in the second half but still occasionally looked dangerous in front of goal.
After 55 minutes, Kazim fired in another shot from the right, forcing a good save from Gomes who gathered the ball after Mehmet Aurelio, another of Fenerbahce's Brazilian contingent, failed to latch on to the rebound.
Gomes again came to his side's rescue after 68 minutes, diving to save a shot from Senturk.
'We lost the ball a lot and of course Fenerbahce played well,' said PSV caretaker coach Jan Wouters, who stepped into the role after Ronald Koeman left for Valencia this month.
'Unfortunately, we made mistakes and that is why we lost.'
PSK exerted a flurry of pressure in the final stages as they tried to make up the deficit but most of their efforts were waywward while Fenerbahce's Turkey goalkeeper Volkan Demirel easily gathered the few efforts on target.
Source:ESPN
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