Turkey League Wrap 24: Adebayor keeps the Basaksehir dream alive

The Turkish League Week 24 saw reigning champions Besiktas slip-up against giant killers Kayserispor. The 2-2 draw allowed Basaksehir to get back in the title race and give the likes of Galatasaray as well as Fenerbahce a glimmer of hope.

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The spirit of Barcelona appeared to have entered Fenerbahce and Galatasaray over the weekend. The reigning La Liga champions made history becoming the first side to turn around a 4-0 first-leg Champions League defeat to beat PSG 6-5 on aggregate.

Fenerbahce’s comeback may not have been quite as impressive but they managed to fight back from an early two goal deficit against Alanyaspor to win the game 3-2. Jeremain Lens was the star of the show yet again, setting up the second goal in what was his 13th assist of the season.

The victory temporarily took the Yellow Canaries into 3rd place but Galatasaray overtook their bitter rivals after beating Genclerbirligi 3-2. Yet again the Lions scored a last-gasp goal to secure victory. For the second week running Galatasaray won a game by a 3-2 scoreline.

With Galatasaray and Fenerbahce both wining, the gap with 2nd placed Basaksehir dropped to three and five points, respectively. The Istanbul minnows did not let pressure get to them, in fact out of all the title challengers they recorded the most convincing victory in the most difficult of circumstances. No offence to Genclerbirligi, Alanyaspor and Kayserispor but   Konyaspor away is a far tougher fixture.

Basaksehir crushed Konyaspor 3-0 on the road with Emmanuel Adebayor scoring his first goal since joining as a free agent in January. The win took the Istanbul based side two points behind leaders Besiktas.

The Black Eagles have looked a little jaded recently other than Vincent Aboubakar who has been on fire. The Cameroon Africa Cup of Nations hero opened the scoring against Kayserispor before the Anatolian Stars replied with two of their own. Aboubakar scored a late equaliser to rescue a point that could end up proving to be vital in the grander scheme of things.

Antalyaspor and Trabzonspor continue to apply pressure on Fenerbahce in the battle for a top four spot. The Scorpions beat Rizespor 2-1 while Trabzonspor maintained their unbeaten league record with a 3-1 win over Akhisar.

Turkey League Talking Points

• Trabzonspor would be first in the league if you are to draw up a league table only taking 2017 into account. The Black Sea Storm are unbeaten in eight games.
• Aboubakar has scored six games in his last seven games for Besiktas who remain unbeaten at the Vodafone Arena in the league
• Oguzhan Ozyakup, Anderson Talisca and Cenk Tosun have attracted scouts from across Europe over the past few weeks
• Umut Bulut scored a goal just a day before the anniversary of his fathers death. Kemal Bulut lost his life in the Ankara terror bombing last year on March 13.
• Galatasaray have won back-to-back league games 3-2 for the first time since the 1976-77 season
• 11 of Selcuk Inan’s last 15 league games have come from set pieces
• Dick Advocaat currently has the lowest points per game ratio when compared to Fenerbahce’s last five managers
• Fenerbahce won a game after turning around a two goal deficit in the league for the first time since 2005.

Results

Alanyaspor 2-3 Fenerbahce

Karabukspor 2-0 Adanaspor

Gaziantepspor 0-2 Kasimpasa

Osmanlispor 1-1 Bursaspor

Galatasaray 3-2 Genclerbirligi

Konyaspor 0-3 Basaksehir

Rizespor 1-2 Antalyaspor

Besiktas 2-2 Kayserispor

Ahisar 1-3 Trabzonspor