Galatasaray crush cellar dweller Karabükspor 7-0

KARABÜK

Turkish Super League leaders Galatasaray defeated bottom-placed Karabükspor 7-0 late on March 3, sustaining its lead at the top of the league standings.

Galatasaray coach Fatih Terim praised his players for being “serious and well-disciplined” after the match.

Karabükspor remain stuck on just 12 points after 24 games, with almost no hope of escaping relegation.

“We are now making plans for next year,” coach Levent Açıkgöz admitted after the game.

French striker Bafetimbi Gomis scored four goals in the rout, Garry Rodrigues added one, and an own goal from Karabükspor in the first half cemented an insurmountable 6-0 lead for the Istanbul side at half time.

The second half saw less action but Galatasaray scored another goal, this time by Sinan Gümüş.

Galatasaray reached 50 points with the win, hours after second-place Başakşehir defeated İzmir’s Göztepe 2-0 to continue its chase, on the same points level with the leader.

Başakşehir’s coach Abdullah Avcı was happy with the win but was still concerned about how often his team gave the ball away. 

“I think the tight league title race will continue until the end,” Avcı said.

Third place Beşiktaş will travel to Trabzonspor on March 5 in the closing game of the week, without its prolific winger Ricardo Quaresma, who was sent off during a Turkish Cup derby against Fenerbahçe on March 1 for his role in a majör on-pitch brawl.