Başakşehir extends stay atop Turkish league

ISTANBUL

Başakşehir won 5-0 against Karabükspor at home on Jan. 29, winning its fourth game in a row and extending its stay atop the Spor Toto Super League standings.

The victory came in a week that saw title hopefuls Galatasaray and Beşiktaş also winning, while Fenerbahçe and Trabzonspor shared the spoils in a key game.

All of Başakşehir’s five goals came in the first half, with Stefano Napoleoni, Gökhan İnler and Emmanuel Adebayor each scoring one while Edin Visca contributed with two goals.

The last time a team was 5-0 up over its opponent in the Turkish league in the first half of a game was back in 2009 when Fenerbahçe comprehensively defeated Hacettepespor.

A comfortable victory over the league’s last-placed team gave Başakşehir the top spot back, which is now at 42 points - one point better than second-placed Galatasaray.

The league title race will continue until the very end, according to Başakşehir coach Abdullah Avcı.

“Not only Galatasaray, Beşiktaş and Fenerbahçe, but Trabzonspor is also in this race,” Avcı told a post-game press conference.

“I believe that this tight race will continue until the very final weeks. Because there will be ups and downs both in the scores and the level of performances, including us. We must wait for at least another three-four weeks to have a clearer picture,” he added.

Galatasaray on Jan. 28 defeated Osmanlıspor 2-0 at home to improve to 41 points, thanks to goals from Sofiane Feghouli and Bafetimbi Gomis.

Beşiktaş defeated minor city rival Kasımpaşa 2-1 on Jan. 26, with its in-form player Anderson Talisca scoring a double for the second time in a row.

Last season’s champion made a quick start to the match, but a late goal by the visiting side created pressure on Beşiktaş.

“After giving up a late goal, we panicked a little,” Beşiktaş coach Şenol Güneş said after the game.

“That created some dramatic moments in the closing stages, but our experience kept the game under control. Except that period, we were the better side,” he added.

The Black Eagles remained at the fourth spot with 36 points.

Fenerbahçe was hosted by Trabzonspor Jan. 28 evening in a game that ended in a 1-1 draw, with goals from Burak Yılmaz and Josef de Souza.

Also in the Week 19 games, 10-man Gençlerbirliği won 2-1 at home against Konyaspor, taking a huge step away from the relegation zone.

Alanyaspor won 3-1 at home against Bursaspor on Jan. 27, while a nine-man Kayserispor managed to salvage one point at Göztepe away in a 1-1 draw.

On Jan. 28, Akhisarspor was held to a 1-1 draw at home by Antalyaspor, extending its winless streak to 11 games despite a brilliant start to the season, and Malatyaspor beat Sivasspor 1-0 at home.