Curtain falls on Turkish Super League
ISTANBUL
The competition in Turkey’s top tier football division has been concluded with the final matches on, and the three teams to drop to the lower division and the clubs that will be on the European stage next season have been determined.
Following the results on May 26, Bursaspor and Erzurumspor joined Akhisarspor to be relegated to the First Division.
Despite losing to Bursaspor 2-1, Malatyaspor remained in the fifth place to compete in UEFA Europa League.
The victory did not help the visiting side either, since Göztepe scored a late goal to beat Ankaragücü 2-1 at home to finish the season one point above Bursaspor.
The failure of Bursaspor, the 2010 league title winner, marked the first time a former Turkish league champion relegating from the top flight.
Despite beating Kayserispor 2-0, Erzurumspor also dropped to lower league.
Galatasaray, which has secured to win the title with one game to go, played its last league game on May 24 at Sivasspor, losing 4-3.
The “Lions,” who clinched their record 22nd league trophy, organized a special ceremony on May 25 at Türk Telekom Stadium to celebrate the title with their fans.
Winning the league also means that Galatasaray secured a direct entrance to the Champions League group stages.
Başakşehir will try to make its way to the Champions League groups through qualification matches after finishing second two points behind the champion. In its last league game of the season, the club based in an Istanbul suburb was held to a 1-1 draw by Alanyaspor at home.
Third-placed Beşiktaş, Trabzonspor in the fourth spot, and Malatyaspor, which finished fifth, will compete in the Europa League.
On May 24, Beşiktaş beat Kasımpaşa 3-2 to secure the third spot, while Trabzonspor also defeated Rizespor 3-2 and finished the season in the fourth place.
On May 26, Fenerbahçe beat Antalyaspor 3-1 to finish a much-troubled season in the sixth spot, thanks to a four-game winning streak.
Denizlispor and Gençlerbirliği were both promoted to Turkish Spor Toto Super League after finishing in the top two spots in the First Division. The final ticket to the Super League will be determined on May 30 when Hatayspor and Gazişehir play in Istanbul in the final of the playoffs.
Galatasaray’s Mbaye Diagne, who spent the first half of the season with Kasımpaşa, became the Super League’s top scorer with 30 goals, followed by Vedat Muriç of Rizespor, who scored 17.
Diagne also became the foreign player with the most goals scored in a season in the Turkish league history.
The 2019-2020 season of the Super League will start on Aug. 16.