Istanbul derby ends in goalless draw

ISTANBUL

Defending champion Galatasaray was held to goalless draw at home by archrival Fenerbahçe in an Istanbul derby on Sept. 28 in the Turkish Süper Lig.

The draw left Galatasaray without a single win in its last 10 matches against Fenerbahçe in Turkey’s top football league. In those matches, Fenerbahçe won three games while seven ended in draws.

Galatasaray had been looking for a home victory against archrival Fenerbahçe for five years, as the Lions last toppled the Yellow Canaries back in 2014.

Fenerbahçe coach Ersun Yanal said his side was on the pitch seeking an away victory.

“Our expectation was to score and win,” he said after the match. “We controlled the game in the late minutes and we could have gone ahead, we were the closer side to score. We want to maintain and develop [this] playing mentality.”

The draw left Galatasaray at nine points in six games, while Fenerbahçe has 11 points.

Sept. 28’s derby was the 390th meeting between the rivals in 110 years.

In those games, Fenerbahçe beat Galatasaray 146 times and was defeated 123 times. The club, based on the Asian side of Istanbul, scored 535 goals against Galatasaray, which replied with 485.

In the Süper Lig, Fenerbahçe won 50 matches while Galatasaray won 33.