Domenico Tedesco has admitted he was taken by surprise when he was sacked as Fenerbahçe coach in the wake of a Süper Lig table topper defeat against Istanbul rivals Galatasaray.

"We had just been discussing an early contract renewal. Now we are going separate ways after the second season defeat," Tedesco told dpa on Tuesday.

"This shows once again just how fast-paced football has become. When I started, the aim was to build something together that would also be sustainable. We wanted to approach things a little differently together than might have been the norm in the past.”

Fenerbahçe lost Sunday's derby 3-0 which leaves them seven points behind leaders Galatasaray. Their last of 19 league titles was in 2014 and they were runners-up the past four seasons.

The club parted ways with Tedesco, sporting director Devin Özek and football coordinator Berke Çelebi on Monday.

German-Italian Tedesco succeeded José Mourinho in September at Fenerbahçe on a contract until 2027 and coached them in 45 matches across all competitions.

He was previously in charge of Schalke, RB Leipzig, Spartak Moscow and the Belgian national team.