Fenerbahçe pulled off a miracle in last night’s derby at the Ali Sami Yen stadium in Istanbul, winning against all odds against a Galatasaray side who was the clear favourite and looked to have everything in its favour to become champion on home soil, but that saw their nine-match unbeaten run come to an end.
Okan Buruk‘s men went all out in a game in which they knew they were playing for a league title, confident because they were playing at home and because they only needed a draw to seal the Süper Lig. The derby, played coinciding with the 19 May national holiday and in a stadium packed to the rafters by the home fans, started off rough and tense on the pitch, and after just 21 minutes of play it became even more favourable for the title contenders when Djiku was sent off after receiving a second yellow for a nasty foul in midfield trying to stop a Torreira breakaway.
With a player down, and playing away from home against a confident and self-assured opponent, İsmail Kartal‘s side found itself under a lot of pressure from Galatasaray, who from that point on dominated possession, although there was no shortage of dangerous chances for either side. In fact, not only was Fenerbahçe able to hold with just 10 players, but even Galata had to resort to committing almost twice as many fouls compared to their opponents (18 vs only 10 by Fenerbahçe) to stop the Yellow Canaries‘ attacking moves.
It was in one such attacking move that, after the Galatasaray defence had managed to clear the ball for a corner, Çağlar took advantage of a clumsy clearance by the home defence under the posts to push the ball into the back of the net with 70 minutes gone. The goal was purely a matter of luck – Çağlar was in the right place at the right time to finish the ball off – but it sparked euphoria among the Fenerbahçe players, who saw the seemingly impossible – snatching the league title from Galatasaray – come closer.
The 1-0 scoreline ended a derby in which Fenerbahçe won with virtually everything against them, proving that the Turkish league is far from decided, although it is still in Galatasaray’s favour as it needs just a point – a draw in Konya next Sunday is enough – to be crowned champions again. However, it should not be forgotten that it was Konyaspor (who is fighting to get out of the relegation positions) who made things difficult for Fenerbahçe a couple of weeks ago, while Fenerbahçe plays the last matchday at home and against the bottom team, İstanbulspor, who is no longer playing for anything. Speaking to the press after the game, a delighted İsmail Kartal said that “we have shown everyone which team plays the best football in this country”. So, there you have it… The last round of the Turkish league promises to be tense until the very last minute.
Results of the 37th round of the Super League
İSTANBULSPOR A.Ş. 1 – 3 EMS YAPI SİVASSPOR
BITEXEN ANTALYASPOR 2 – 1 YUKATEL ADANA DEMİRSPOR A.Ş.
BEŞİKTAŞ A.Ş. 2 – 2 ATAKAŞ HATAYSPOR
MKE ANKARAGÜCÜ 0 – 0 SİLTAŞ YAPI PENDİKSPOR FUTBOL A.Ş.
ÇAYKUR RİZESPOR A.Ş. 0 – 0 KASIMPAŞA A.Ş.
YILPORT SAMSUNSPOR 1 – 1 CORENDON ALANYASPOR
GAZİANTEP FUTBOL KULÜBÜ A.Ş. 3 – 1 VAVACARS FATİH KARAGÜMRÜK
RAMS BAŞAKŞEHİR FUTBOL KULÜBÜ 0 – 1 TRABZONSPOR A.Ş.
MONDİHOME KAYSERİSPOR 2 – 2 TÜMOSAN KONYASPOR
GALATASARAY A.Ş. 0 – 1 FENERBAHÇE A.Ş.
Turkish league: standings
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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.
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