Beşiktaş, led by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, caused an upset by beating Mourinho’s Fenerbahçe away in Sunday’s derby in Istanbul, virtually ending the Yellow Canaries‘ dreams of snatching the Turkish league title from Galatasaray, who are on course to be crowned champions for the third consecutive season unless a miracle happens (or a disaster, depending on how you look at it).
Fenerbahçe, who two games ago let two valuable points slip away, unleashing the wrath of their fans, dominated possession and tried hard, but it was the Black Eagles who made the most of their chances and showed more precision against a Fenerbahçe lacking in ideas, who failed to play their best game despite playing at their Ülker Stadium.
The only goal of the match was scored by Gedson Fernandes; the Portuguese player, who just eight minutes earlier had missed a penalty after a clear handball – including a grab – by Talisca in the area, made no mistake when, in the 44th minute, he found himself with an open goal after a serious mistake by the Canaries’ defence and their goalkeeper, İrfan Eğribayat, who looked on helplessly as the joy of his great save from Fernandes just minutes earlier evaporated.
In addition to the Portuguese midfielder, the other goalkeeper in contention, Mert Günok, was also a major player in the match, making several memorable saves during the game. Meanwhile, at Fenerbahçe, as the end approached with the score at 0-1, the tension in the stands was mounting, with many fans calling for the resignation of the club’s board.
Mourinho’s days at Fenerbahçe could be numbered
The result leaves Fenerbahçe in a very difficult position in the league: they drop three valuable points and are now 8 points behind Galatasaray, Álvaro Morata‘s team, who easily defeated Sivasspor and, with only 4 league games left to play, are on the verge of winning another Turkish Süper Lig title, for which they only need one more win and a draw.
It should be noted that Beşiktaş, which has been mired in a slump for the last two seasons, not only surprised everyone this weekend by defeating Fenerbahçe at home, but the black and whites are also the only team to have beaten Galatasaray this season… Which is no small feat.
Mourinho’s serious expression in the derby against Beşiktaş said it all: the Portuguese coach, already the target of much criticism for the team’s poor play and performance, could see his promises to bring titles to Fenerbahçe go up in smoke: eliminated from the Turkish Cup in the quarter-finals by Galatasaray, the Portuguese coach can now consider the Turkish league title all but lost. Accustomed to ranting against Turkish football in his recent press appearances, if this turns out to be a ‘blank’ season for Fenerbahçe, his days in Turkish football could be numbered.
Results of the 34th round of the Super League
ONVO ANTALYASPOR 1 – 0 TÜMOSAN KONYASPOR
CORENDON ALANYASPOR 1 – 1 BELLONA KAYSERİSPOR
ÇAYKUR RİZESPOR A.Ş. 2 – 0 GAZİANTEP FUTBOL KULÜBÜ A.Ş.
GALATASARAY A.Ş. 4 – 1 NET GLOBAL SİVASSPOR
ATAKAŞ HATAYSPOR 2 – 4 RAMS BAŞAKŞEHİR FUTBOL KULÜBÜ
REEDER SAMSUNSPOR 3 – 0 İKAS EYÜPSPOR
FENERBAHÇE A.Ş. 0 – 1 BEŞİKTAŞ A.Ş.
ADANA DEMİRSPOR A.Ş. 1 – 2 GÖZTEPE A.Ş.
KASIMPAŞA A.Ş. – TRABZONSPOR A.Ş.
Turkish league: standings
VOTE
EDITORIAL TEAM
🧿 About us
.
Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
…
📣 Your ADVERTISING on Hispanatolia
.
🤗 HELP US WITH A DONATION:
💗 Paypal
