Turkish League Wrap: Besiktas return to the top with helping hand from rivals Fenerbahce

By
Emre Sarigul
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Turkish League Wrap: Besiktas return to the top with helping hand from rivals Fenerbahce

The Turkish League Week 18 saw reigning champions Besiktas return to the top of the table thanks to a helping hand from Istanbul rivals Fenerbahce who became the first side to beat Basaksehir this season.

A few years ago Fenerbahce v Basaksehir was not even considered a derby. Twenty seven years ago there was not even a Basaksehir side to play against. The Istanbul minnows have gone from playing amateur football in the early 1990’s to taking on the old guard in 2017.

Basaksehir went into the game as undefeated leaders with the leagues best goal scoring record (36) and having conceded the fewest goals (11). Fenerbahce meanwhile were in a precarious position seven points behind Basaksehir in fourth place. A defeat could have been curtains for Dick Advocaat’s title aspirations but he ended up prevailing thanks to an Ozan Tufan shot. As luck would have it Tufan’s shot rebounded off former Fenerbahce legend Emre Belozoglu past his own keeper Volkan Babacan.

Advocaat sprung a few surprises going into the clash. Salih Ucan was drafted in for only his second start of the season – coincidently his first start was against Basaksehir at the start of the league campaign. Fenerbahce have lacked a creative number 10 capable of orchestrating attacks and providing a goal scoring threat this season. The Dutch manager did have his hand forced with Aatif being dropped as he was forced to play Alper Potuk who has been filling in as the main central attacking midfielder was pushed out wide.

Fenerbahce are in the market for a new number 10 but Ucan gave Advocaat something to think about after putting on an impressive display and providing the assist to the winning goal. After an unsuccessful spell at Roma the 23-year-old is trying to kickstart his career back at Fenerbahce. Ucan showed glimpses of what made him one of the most sought after Turkish talents just a few years back. He opened up the leagues best defence with clever passes and used his intelligence to try and outwit his opponents.

The game went pretty much as was expected with both sides proving difficult to break down. It came down to fine margins to find a winner. Basaksehir boss Abdullah Avci remained as composed as ever stating that there was no need for panic. Fenerbahce have the best home record in the league, the Sukru Saracoglu has been a fortress for years. What will be interesting to find out is how Basaksehir respond to their first defeat of the season.

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Super Lig Talking Points

Galatasaray could have joined Basaksehir on 39 points but despite taking the lead against Karabukspor they ended up losing 2-1. The Lions remain in third place but have arch-rivals Fenerbahce breathing down their neck with just one point separating them. There was the usual hyperbole that has surrounded Galatasaray this season following the result with pundits and fan groups yet again lambasting the Lions. Despite being totally written off since the start of the season Galatasaray are just five points off leaders Besiktas and still very much in the title race.

Besiktas and Fenerbahce are not traditionally huge rivals compared to the hatred the Canaries have for Galatasaray but this season has seen the tide starting to change. Besiktas and Fenerbahce have been up in arms over poaching players. The Black Eagles snapped up long-term Fenerbahce star Gokhan Gonul and loaned in Caner Erkin from Inter Milan. In retaliation the Canaries signed Besiktas full-back Ismail Koybasi. It was therefore ironic that Fenerbahce’s victory over Basaksehir paved the way for Besiktas to move into first place. The reigning champions crushed Alanyaspor 4-1 away from home. Cenk Tosun opened the scoring taking his season tally to 12. The Turkish international was supposed to play second fiddle to Aboubakar this season but is currently the leagues goal king and first-choice striker. Ryan Babel’s transfer raised a few question marks but if he continues to score goals like the one he bagged on his debut he’ll soon become a fan favourite. Ricardo Quaresma and Marcelo scored the other two.

 

Antalyaspor extended their winning streak to three games following their 2-1 win over Osmanlispor. The Scorpions were being tipped for a relegation scrap just a few weeks ago but are not in 5th place. Samuel Eto’o was once again on the scoresheet and has now found the back of the net in four of his last five away games. What really impressed us however, was his goal celebration.

 

We end on a sad note. Legendary Genclerbirligi club president Ilhan Cavcav passed away over the weekend. Cavcav served the Ankara based outfit for almost 40 years and was the longest serving club president in Turkey. Genclerbirligi were playing in the lower leagues when Cavcav took charge. They’ve played in the top-tier since 1990. In 1978 Gençlerbirliği had no training facilities but now have one of the largest youth programs in Turkey with 50 acres of grounds. The Gaziantepspor clash was postponed following news of his death.

Cavcav

Results

Akhisar 0-0 Kayserispor 

Bursaspor 0-1 Adanaspor

Konyaspor 2-1 Rizespor 

Karabukspor 1-2 Galatasaray

Osmanlıspor 1-2 Antalyaspor

Gaziantepspor v Gençlerbirliği (Postponed)

Kasımpaşa 0-1 Trabzonspor

Fenerbahçe 1-0 İstanbul BB

Alanyaspor 1-4 Besiktas

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