Galatasaray beats Trabzonspor to stay atop Turkish league
ISTANBUL
Galatasaray won 2-1 at home against Trabzonspor in a Spor Toto Super League match late on April 1 to extend its stay atop the standings.
Galatasaray winger Sofiane Feghouli scored an early goal for his team in the seventh minute of the match at Türk Telekom Stadium in Istanbul. Assisted by Mariano Ferreira Filh, Feghouli found the net in close range.
In the 60th minute of the game, the home side’s French striker Bafetimbi Gomis doubled the lead as he took advantage of Trabzonspor defender Okay Yokuşlu’s mistake. Gomis took the ball by tackling him and chipped the ball over Trabzonspor goalkeeper Onur Kıvrak.
Trabzonspor pulled one back in the dying minutes of the game when Slovakian central midfielder Juraj Kucka scored a long range goal with a free kick in the midfield. Galatasaray goalkeeper Fernando Muslera was unable to parry it since he was caught in front, but the goal was too little too late for the visiting side.
With the victory, Galatasaray increased its points to 57 in 27 games and extended its stay in the top spot.
Galatasaray coach Fatih Terim believes that his side’s current level of play will lead to the league title.
“Everyone thinks we have a tough upcoming fixture, but I do not agree. If we continue to play like this,” the former Turkish national team coach said during a post-game press conference.
“You know my game philosophy: I love to constantly attack and keep the ball in our opponent’s zone. Tonight, my players understood and successfully executed my game plan,” Terim added.
Title contender Başakşehir also won on April 1, beating Akhisarspor 2-1 in an away game, and sits in second spot with 56 points.
Defending champion Beşiktaş was another winner of the weekend, grabbing a hard-fought 1-0 victory at home over Alanyaspor, thanks to a brilliant strike by Brazilian attacking midfielder Anderson Talisca in the 29th minute of the game on March 31.
“We played against a team that ran a lot,” Beşiktaş coach Şenol Güneş said after the victory.
“But we managed to keep them in check and did not give away any serious chances. In the second half, we got a little tired and had to pull back a bit. We are at a stage where the score matters more than the performance,” he added.
The fight against relegation was also at full speed over the weekend, as Gençlerbirliği further slumped with a 4-1 thrashing at Malatyaspor on March 31.
Osmanlıspor and Konyaspor shared the spoils in a goalless draw on April 1, with both sides of the danger zone unhappy with the result.
Antalyaspor enjoyed a 2-0 home victory against Bursaspor on March 31, going four points clear of the danger zone and putting Coach Paul Le Guen’s future at Bursaspor at risk.
Fenerbahçe, which trails behind Beşiktaş by five points in the fourth spot, was to play Kayserispor late on April 2 in the closing game of Week 27 in the Spor Toto Super League.