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Besiktas overcame a red card-reduced FC Midtjylland 2-0 on Thursday night at MCH Arena, advancing to the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round on a 3-0 aggregate after holding a 1-0 advantage from the first leg in Istanbul.
Milot Rashica broke the deadlock in the 70th minute, finishing from the center of the box after a slick assist from Junior Olaitan.
Captain Orkun Kokcu then sealed the tie six minutes later from the penalty spot, driving his shot into the bottom right corner after Ilhan Fakili had been fouled in the area by Rasmus Kristensen.
The result handed new head coach Vincenzo Italiano, appointed ahead of the 2026-27 campaign, a commanding start to his tenure with Besiktas.
The game had been evenly fought for the first hour, with Midtjylland goalkeeper Elias Olafsson making key saves and the hosts enjoying stretches of attacking pressure.
But the match turned decisively in the 53rd minute when Martin Erlic received a second yellow card for a foul on Oh Hyeon-Gyu, leaving Midtjylland to defend with 10 men for the final half-hour. Erlic had already been cautioned in first-half stoppage time.
Midtjylland had threatened intermittently before the sending-off.
Franculino Dju struck the right post twice, in the 3rd and 32nd minutes, and the Danish side forced a succession of corners.
Besiktas, however, grew more dominant once the numerical advantage took effect. Kokcu rattled the left post in the 60th minute following a fast break set up by Oh Hyeon-Gyu before the Turkish side converted its superiority into goals.
Besiktas navigated the tie without several key players. Summer signing Leandro Trossard remained on post-World Cup leave, Wilfred Ndidi was sidelined with an ankle injury, and Felix Uduokhai served a UEFA suspension.
The Istanbul club was nonetheless composed and organized, limiting Midtjylland to speculative efforts and dealing efficiently with the hosts' set-piece threats. Alexander Nubel was tested only intermittently in the Besiktas goal, with his sharpest intervention coming in the 89th minute when he denied Cho Gue-Sung at close range.
Both Besiktas substitutes Oh Hyeon-Gyu and Yasin Ozcan were booked after entering the match, and Vaclav Cerny also received a yellow card, but the visitors managed the closing stages without difficulty.
With the tie decided, Besiktas will face the winner of the second qualifying round match between Czech side Hradec Kralove and Norway's Tromso.
Hradec Kralove held a 1-0 lead heading into their home second leg. Should Besiktas progress through the third qualifying round and a subsequent playoff, they would earn a place in the Europa League league phase. Elimination at any stage would redirect the club into the UEFA Conference League qualifying rounds.
Midtjylland, who have regularly been among Denmark's representatives in European competition in recent years, see their 2026-27 continental campaign end at the second qualifying round.
The Danish club had finished the first leg with a creditable 1-1 draw before a 1-0 Istanbul defeat ultimately proved too steep a deficit to overturn at home.
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