Mourinho punished! Sharp Nigerian striker Dessers feeling 'nice' after destroying Fenerbahce

Nigerian forward Cyriel Dessers is brimming with confidence after a stellar performance against Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce in the Europa League. 

The Rangers striker scored one and assisted another as the Scottish side secured a stunning 3-1 victory in Turkey in the first leg of their round of 16 clash on Thursday night.

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Speaking to UEFA.com after the match, Dessers, who had two additional goals disallowed by VAR, expressed his delight with the result and his own contribution. 

"It's a very nice feeling to score in a stadium like this," he said. "For the first goal, I just saw the ball drop between the defender and the goalkeeper, and that's one of those moments as a striker when you have to be sharp."

Dessers' early goal capitalised on a defensive lapse by Fenerbahce, though Alexander Djiku levelled the score with a well-taken strike. 

However, Dessers assisted Vaclav Cerny's goal late in the first half restoring Rangers' lead before Cerny added another in the 82nd minute, after the VAR denied the Nigerian twice, to seal a comfortable victory for the visitors.

Despite Fenerbahce's attempts to rally in the second half, bringing on extra attackers, Rangers held firm and exploited the Turkish side's vulnerability on the counterattack.

Dessers, who has now notched 21 goals and provided five assists across all competitions this season, is hopeful but cautious ahead of the second leg. 

"Overall, I think we can be very happy with this evening,” he added. “We handled them well. It will not be easy to handle them again next week, but you see that we can hurt any team on the counterattack."

This impressive form could see Dessers recalled to the Super Eagles squad for the upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe, having been named in the 39-man provisional squad. 

He'll be looking to carry his impressive club form onto the international stage.