Süper Lig title race wide open after derby

ISTANBUL

Beşiktaş came from behind to beat Turkish Süper Lig leader Galatasaray 3-1 on April 30 night, throwing itself back in the trophy race with six weeks to go.

Argentine star Mauro Icardi put the visiting side ahead in the 20th minute at Vodafone Park, but Romain Saiss leveled the score in the 35th minute.

Amir Hadziahmetovic gave the lead to the host in the 58th minute, while Vincent Aboubakar added another in the dying minutes of the match to seal a crucial victory for Beşiktaş.

With this result, the point gap between the second-placed Fenerbahçe, which won 3-1 at Sivasspor on April 29, and the league leader was reduced to three, as Galatasaray tops the standings with 70 points while its city rival has 67.

Beşiktaş also cut the gap with the top two and sits in the third place with 65 points.

Beşiktaş coach Şenol Güneş is aware that his men have a mountain to climb in the rest of the season.

“We would have been sad to leave this game with a defeat; the opponent has the advantage, but three points were important for us,” the experienced coach told a post-game press conference.

“We have to come out of the darkness and into the light. We saw those signs here, but we have to be better. We showed that we can be better if we do the right things. If we win the remaining four games, things will be much better in the future, but today we are still in the third spot. We will play our own game without looking at the schedule or the result of our opponents,” Güneş said.

Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk is confident of claiming the league trophy at the end of the season despite the derby loss.

“We have come here with a six-point lead. That doesn’t create pressure, but of course there are mistakes and bad luck,” the former Galatasaray star told reporters after the match.

“Of course, the players are going to make mistakes. They have done too good a job so far and will do better from now on.”

Galatasaray’s performances so far in the season testify to the club’s success, according to Buruk.

“We are the best team with the performance we have shown so far. We will be sad for one or two days, but we will recover in a short time and prepare for the Başakşehir game,” he said.

“Our fans should not worry in this sense. The team they deserve and want will be on the field in the next game. We will show the team that will win the championship on the field.”

In Süper Lig’s other games over the weekend, Alanyaspor beat Ümraniyespor 1-0, 10-man Trabzonspor lost 2-1 at Konyaspor, Antalyaspor beat Karagümrük 1-0 in an away match, and Ankaragücü and Kasımpaşa shared the spoils in a goalless draw.