Baghdad: Turkish side Besiktas secured a 1-0 victory over Danish visitors Midtjylland in the first leg of their Europa League second qualifying round tie at the Topras Stadium in Istanbul last night.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the return leg will be played in Denmark on July 30, 2026, to determine who advances to the third round, where they will face the winner of the match between Norwegian side Troms¸ and Czech side Hradec Kr¡lov©.

The home side started the match aggressively, creating several scoring opportunities, before suffering a blow when their Nigerian player, Friday Etem, was sent off in the 15th minute for a dangerous tackle on Portuguese player Tiago Djallo. Besiktas capitalized on their numerical advantage, scoring the opening goal in the 26th minute through Orkun K¶k§, who received a pass from Czech player V¡clav Cern½ and fired a precise right-footed shot from outside the penalty area.

Besiktas nearly scored a second goal when Ilhan Fakili sent a cross from the left wing into the penalty area, but Panamanian Amir Murillo's shot was saved by goalkeeper Olafsson, hitting the crossbar and bouncing back into play. In the second half, Besiktas continued their dominance and continued to create chances, but they lacked effectiveness. The visitors almost equalized in the 79th minute when Philip Billing fired a left-footed shot from inside the penalty area, but Besiktas' German goalkeeper, Alexander Nbel, made a brilliant save.