Galatasaray‘s vibrant encounter at Istanbul’s Rams Park yesterday saw Lions overcome a Trabzonspor side that made things difficult for them: a result that consolidates them as leaders of the Turkish Süper Lig.
The match was attended by former Galatasaray player Felipe Melo, who was honoured before the game. Melo, who played for the club in two seasons and won eight titles, was presented with a plaque in recognition of his contribution and watched the game from the stands as a fan, demonstrating the passion for Galatasaray that he has always shown.
The scoreboard opened early with a fine goal by Mertens after just eight minutes. However, Trabzonspor was not to be denied and just a minute later Muslera saved a dangerous shot from Mendy that went just over the crossbar; finally, in the 17th minute came the equaliser that the Black Sea side had been looking for with a spectacular header from Ozan Tufan. Practically unstoppable.
On the half-hour mark, after a free kick in midfield, Yunus Akgün received a pass on the edge of the box and without a second thought he unleashed a powerful left-footed shot that flew just inside the left-hand post, leaving Black Sea Storm goalkeeper Uğurcan Çakır speechless.
Okan Buruk‘s men went in at half-time with the lead, but Trabzonspor still had surprises in store. Five minutes into the second half, Banza took the ball from a challenge on the edge of the box with Bardakcı and beat Muslera to equalise. Four minutes later, it was again Ozan Tufan who headed past Muslera to put the Trabzon side ahead.
A heart-stopping second half
In the 59th minute, the referee pointed to a knock down in the box by Portugal’s Pedro Malheiro on Mertens; after consulting the VAR, it was finally ruled a penalty, which Batshuayi easily converted to tie the game again. From then on, the Lions redoubled their attacks on the rival’s goal and showed their grit on the pitch; but the interventions of Çakır, undoubtedly one of the great protagonists of the match, thwarted Galata’s attempts to take the lead on the scoreboard.
In stoppage time, Trabzonspor gave the home fans a scare when, after a counter-attack in the opposition half, Denis Drăguș received a pass from Ozan Tufan that beat Muslera… Only the intervention of Bardakcı, who managed to tip the ball a few centimetres wide of the goal line, prevented the disaster.
Five minutes later, with eight minutes added on by the referee, Batshuayi’s shot hit the post. Just a minute later, from a free kick on the edge of the box, it was Batshuayi again who headed home the 4th and final goal for Galatasaray, who with this hard-fought victory remains unbeaten in the league and maintains its lead and their 6-point advantage over its nearest challengers, Mourinho’s Fenerbahçe, who defeated Başakşehir 3-1 on Sunday. Beşiktaş, for its part, continues its crisis and, after yesterday’s defeat in Adana against the Super League’s bottom team, drops to 6th place, 16 points behind Galatasaray.
Results of the 16th round of the Super League
KASIMPAŞA A.Ş. 2 – 0 İKAS EYÜPSPOR
SİPAY BODRUM FK 2 – 0 NET GLOBAL SİVASSPOR
ÇAYKUR RİZESPOR A.Ş. 1 – 1 TÜMOSAN KONYASPOR
CORENDON ALANYASPOR 3 – 0 GAZİANTEP FUTBOL KULÜBÜ A.Ş.
ATAKAŞ HATAYSPOR 1 – 1 GÖZTEPE A.Ş.
ONVO ANTALYASPOR 2 – 0 BELLONA KAYSERİSPOR
FENERBAHÇE A.Ş. 3 – 1 RAMS BAŞAKŞEHİR FUTBOL KULÜBÜ
ADANA DEMİRSPOR A.Ş. 2 – 1 BEŞİKTAŞ A.Ş.
GALATASARAY A.Ş. 4 – 3 TRABZONSPOR 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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