Süper Lig keeps up the pace with mid-week action
ISTANBUL
The Turkish Süper Lig competition continues with mid-week action, as leader Başakşehir plays at home against Denizlispor on July 7.
Following the Week 30 games over the weekend, Başakşehir stayed atop the standings and kept its two-point lead ahead of Trabzonspor, with both sides winning their games.
The leader grabbed a 2-0 win at Antalyaspor on July 4, while Trabzonspor kept its title hopes alive with an 3-1 away victory on July 5 against Galatasaray, which has failed to defend league title.
Galatasaray was reduced to 10 men in the 32nd minute after Sofiane Feghouli was shown a red card with a VAR decision after kicking defender Manuel da Costa in the chest.
Jose Sosa successfully converted a penalty shot in the 41st minute, and Filip Novak doubled the lead for the away team in the 70th.
Galatasaray found a goal from Jean Michael Seri’s penalty shot in stoppage time, but Alexander Sörloth scored another for the visitors to seal the score.
Galatasaray coach Fatih Terim complained about the injuries and said his side has not been on form since the league restarted last month after a three-month pandemic break.
“We aim to be the champions every year, but sometimes you suffer things you had never thought of,” Terim said of the injured players.
“At least we still have 11 players to filed, we will try to take the ship calmly to the port.”
When asked if Galatasaray failed, and if so what was the reason, Terim was clear.
“Yes, I think we failed,” he answered. The reasons are A: Me, B: Faith Terim.”
Galatasaray plays Alanyaspor in its next game on July 8, and it still has a chance of earning a berth to the Champions League qualifiers by finishing third, since Trabzonspor was banned from European competitions for one year by the UEFA due to financial irregularities.
Trabzonspor, meanwhile, will hosts Antalyaspor on July 8.
The Black Sea side’s coach Hüseyin Çimsir was happy to see his side staying in the title fight.
“WE won and we move on,” he said after the Galatasaray match. It was important to win against a strong opponent coming from two back-to-back draws. We want to be in the title race until the very end.”
Elsewhere in Süper Lig’s Week 31 games, Gençlerbirliği, which failed to beat Malatyaspor over the weekend, has another crucial game to stay off the relegation zone when it hosts Fenerbahçe on July7.
On July 8, third-placed Sivasspor entertains Malatyaspor and bottom club Ankaragücü travels to Göztepe.
The mid-week competition concludes with three games on July 9, when Rizespor hosts Kayserispor, Beşiktaş takes on Kasımpaşa at home and Konyaspor visits Gaziantep.
