Galatasaray get precious home win in Turkish league as archrivals lose

ISTANBUL

Galatasaray on Oct. 31 beat Gaziantep FK 2-0 in a Turkish Spor Toto Süper Lig match for a valuable victory as their archrivals Beşiktaş and Fenerbahçe suffered defeats each in the same week.

The visitors were quite disciplined in defense after the kickoff in Istanbul's Nef Stadium as the Lions managed to break the deadlock just before the break.

Galatasaray's Romanian midfielder Olimpiu Morutan curled a left-footed strike in the penalty area, sending the ball into the far corner to score the opener in the 48th minute of the first half.

The home team cemented their lead as Turkish winger Kerem Aktürkoğlu scored on a counter-attack in the 73rd minute of the match, 2-0.

Algerian midfielder Sofiane Feghouli assisted Aktürkoğlu as the 23-year-old finished after a decent through ball.

This was also the winning goal for Galatasaray.

Victors Galatasaray did not make a mistake this weekend when their rivals and title contenders Beşiktaş and Fenerbahçe lost their league matches each on Saturday.

Atakaş Hatayspor shocked the defending Turkish champions Beşiktaş 1-0, and Fenerbahçe were beaten by Ittifak Holding Konyaspor 2-1.

Galatasaray are now in the sixth spot in the Süper Lig standings with 20 points.

Following the loss in Istanbul, Gaziantep FK have 12 points to sit in the 14th position.

Beşiktaş are in fourth place with 20 points. Meanwhile, Fenerbahçe collected 19 points to chase Galatasaray.

One of the "Big Four", Trabzonspor are leading the league as they racked up 27 points in 11 matches.