Galatasaray out to reclaim top spot in Turkish Super League

ANKARA

Galatasaray is out to reclaim its top spot in the Turkish Super League in the closing game of week 28, which has already seen both title rivals win over the weekend.

The Istanbul side will visit Gençlerbirliği, an Ankara-based team struggling against relegation.

Galatasaray coach Fatih Terim will enjoy the return of defender Fernando Reges following a week of suspension and has no noteworthy injuries in the squad.

His team is high in morale after beating Trabzonspor at home last week. It is now on 57 points and is in second spot, two points behind Başakşehir with a game in hand.

Başakşehir beat Yeni Malatya 1-0 at home in the opening game of the week on April 6, retaking the top spot. The sole goal in that match came in the 18th minute of the first half, when Dutch winger Eljero Elia latched onto his teammate Edin Visca’s pass inside the six-yard box,

On April 7, third-spot Beşiktaş destroyed İzmir’s Göztepe 5-1 in a home match at Vodafone Park to increase its points to 56, remaining in the title race before the final six games of the week.

Beşiktaş bagged three points even though several team regulars weren’t on the pitch. Portuguese winger Ricardo Quaresma, Turkey internationals Oguzhan Özyakup, Tolgay Arslan and Gökhan Gönül, and Canadian midfielder Atiba Hutchinson were all missing due to injury or suspension.

The scorers for Beşiktaş included Brazilian attacking midfielder Anderson Talisca, Chilean midfielder Gary Medel, Serbian central defender Dusko Tosic, Canadian striker Cyle Larin and Dutch forward Ryan Babel. Canadian striker Cyle Larin found the net in the final minutes of the game to settle the score.

Visiting Göztepe’s single goal was scored by Turkish midfielder Halil Akbunar.