Galatasaray remains in Süper Lig title race with derby win

ISTANBUL

Galatasaray beat Beşiktaş 3-1 in an Istanbul derby on May 8 to keep its Turkish Süper Lig title hopes alive with two matches to go.

Fenerbahçe is also in the three-way contest after beating Ankaragücü 2-1 with a late goal.

Ryan Babel put Galatasaray ahead in the 11th minute, before Rachid Ghezzal leveled the game from the penalty spot in the 42nd.

The home side responded quickly with a penalty goal by Radamel Falcao in the dying minutes of the first half.

Arda Turan, who replaced Babel in the 73rd minute, scored his side’s third goal three minutes later to seal the score.

With the win, Galatasaray increased its points tally to 78, reducing the gap with leader Beşiktaş to three points.

Fenerbahçe sits in the second spot with 79 points after winning in Ankara. Ankaragücü made a great start to the game with Alper Potuk’s goal in the third minute, but Ozan Tufan equalized the score in the 42nd.

Enner Valencia scored the winner with seconds away from the final whistle.

Beşiktaş coach Sergen Yalçın is keen to snap out of the derby loss with his side’s next test scheduled for May 11 against Karagümrük.

“It was an important derby in the final episode of the season,” Yalçın said after the game.

“We would like to return from here with good results, but it was not possible. But we cannot stay stuck in this defeat. We need to take the lessons from here and get ready for the Karagümrük match. We have two critical final matches for the end of the season. I hope we will make up for this loss in the remaining games.”

Galatasaray coach Fatih Terim, on the other hand, is determined to keep fighting until the very end.

“I certainly am hopeful about our trophy chances,” he said.

“It is very important for us to win, but our opponents must lose, too. There will be no more easy games. There is the fight against relegation, there are those who want finish in the top five. The matches will not be easy for anyone. We will continue to play like Galatasaray, we will not give up, let’s see how it will all end.”

The fight against relegation is also tough, with Denizlispor being the first team to drop after a 1-0 loss at Hatayspor.

Gençlerbirliği also put its chances of staying in the top flight after being demolished 5-1 by Karagümrük.

Erzurumspor lost 1-0 at home Kasımpaşa, Kayserispor was held to a goalless draw at home by Gaziantep and Trabzonspor beat Antalyaspor 2-1.

All week 41 matches in the Süper Lig will be played at 8:30 p.m. on May 11, with Fenerbahçe hosting Sivasspor and Galatasaray visiting Denizlispor.