Galatasaray remains the undisputed leader in the Turkish Super League and won – albeit narrowly – on Monday’s visit to Gaziantep to close the 22nd round of the Süper Lig, a match which also saw the debut of the Lions’ new signing, Spanish striker Álvaro Morata.
Ahmet Kutucu, formerly of Eyüpsor, scored the only goal of the match at the Gaziantep Stadium. The Turkish-German striker struck a right-footed shot from a corner kick by Dries Mertens, which he received almost unexpectedly when he was all alone on the edge of the box: the shot bounced off the turf with a strange effect, and from then on it was unimpeded into the net. Kutucu himself, who threw his hands to his head as he celebrated the goal, could hardly believe it.
The early goal helped Okan Buruk‘s men to gain confidence from the first few minutes and to redouble their attacks on the goal defended by Burak Bozan, but the young goalkeeper from Mardin was able to stand up to his opponent’s attacks and the score remained unchanged for the whole match. One of his greatest interventions came in first-half stoppage time, when he saved Kaan Ayhan’s header from a corner that looked absolutely unstoppable. He was undoubtedly the hero of the day.
Gaziantep FK, in fact, were not fazed by the league leaders, and with the support of their fans, they also put the Galata goal under pressure on several occasions. But the goddess Fortune was not on their side yesterday. In the second half, Galatasaray attacked even more strongly, and the home team had to limit themselves to counter-attacks to trouble the rival’s defence.
Morata’s debut in the Turkish league
It was in the 69th minute, when Galatasaray was at its most harassing against Gaziantep, that the Spanish striker – who arrived in Istanbul on Sunday on a transfer from Milan until January 2026 – made his debut for his new team, replacing Mertens, who had co-taken the only goal of the game.
His debut however went rather unnoticed, as the former Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid man barely touched the ball and had no scoring chances until late in the game. The referee added seven extra minutes, during which time Gaziantep tried as best they could to equalise with repeated attacks… Without any success. At the end of the match, Morata went with the rest of his teammates to the stands to greet the Galatasaray fans who had come to watch the match.
With this result, Galatasaray gets another Turkish league win – and 18 already this season – and remains the only unbeaten team and undisputed leader with 57 points, six points behind Mourinho’s Fenerbahçe, who beat Rizespor 3-2 on Sunday.
Results of the 22nd round of the Super League
İKAS EYÜPSPOR 1 – 0 NET GLOBAL SİVASSPOR
TÜMOSAN KONYASPOR 3 – 1 SİPAY BODRUM FK
ATAKAŞ HATAYSPOR 2 – 3 ONVO ANTALYASPOR
BELLONA KAYSERİSPOR 0 – 0 TRABZONSPOR A.Ş.
RAMS BAŞAKŞEHİR FUTBOL KULÜBÜ 4 – 0 REEDER SAMSUNSPOR
ADANA DEMİRSPOR A.Ş. 3 – 5 KASIMPAŞA A.Ş.
GÖZTEPE A.Ş. 0 – 1 CORENDON ALANYASPOR
FENERBAHÇE A.Ş. 3 – 2 ÇAYKUR RİZESPOR A.Ş.
GAZİANTEP FUTBOL KULÜBÜ A.Ş. 0 – 1 GALATASARAY 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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