Galatasaray cuts gap with leader to three points in Turkish Super League
ISTANBUL
The points gap between Spor Toto Super League leader Başakşehir and its closest rival Galatasaray dropped to three points after Week 29 games.
Başakşehir suffered a blow in the title race after drawing with Rizespor at home on April 21. The club based in an Istanbul suburb remained at the top with 62 points, three points ahead of defending champion Galatasaray.
Rizespor’s Vedat Muriqi scored at 62nd minute, while Başakşehir scored the equalizer with Edin Visca from a penalty shot during extra time.
Başakşehir coach Abdullah Avcı said that stress was a factor for the slump in the team’s recent performances.
“These are not easy periods,” Avcı told a post-game press conference.
“The club does not have the culture [of chasing the league title], but the players have the experience. It is not an easy process, not four us, and no for the others.”
Galatasaray, meanwhile, defeated Kayserispor 3-1 on April 20 evening to increase its points tally to 59.
The Istanbul giant found itself 0-1 down after a defensive error led to an easy Kayserispor goal, scored by Artem Kravets.
With no room for any point loss, Galatasaray fought back hard to equalize the match in the 16th minute with Mbaye Diagne, who also converted a penalty kick to give his team the lead in the 40th minute.
Diagne now has 28 goals on his account in the league, being the top goal scorer.
Galatasaray increased its lead to two goals in the dying minutes of the first half, with Japanese full back Yuto Nagatomo scoring his first ever goal for Galatasaray with a close-range header.
Also in the Spor Toto Super League Week 29 games, Göztepe lost 1-0 to Erzurumspor at home, in a crucial game for the relegation zone. With the loss, Erzurumspor leapfrogged Göztepe to climb up to the 16th spot, one point behind Bursaspor, which was held to 1-1 draw by Kasımpaşa.
Fenerbahçe suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at Alanyaspor on April 21, failing to guarantee to be in the top flight next season.
