The 21st round of the Süper Lig saw the title race hot up after Galatasaray joined Fenerbahce at the top of the Süper Lig table.
In a Super Lig derby for the ages, Galatasaray painted the town yellow with a resounding 5-1 victory over Trabzonspor. Wilfried Zaha emerged as the undisputed star, bagging a hat-trick and orchestrating Galatasaray’s dominant display.
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The Yellow-Reds wasted no time, striking first in the 13th minute with Zaha finishing coolly on Barış Alper Yılmaz’s assist. The Ivorian maestro doubled the lead in the 61st minute, leaving Trabzonspor reeling.
Kaan Ayhan joined the party four minutes later, putting away Zaha’s pass to make it 3-0. Trabzonspor managed a consolation goal through Enis Destan, but Kerem Aktürkoğlu quickly extinguished any embers of hope with a beauty of his own.
A late VAR decision disallowed what would have been Zaha’s third, but Aktürkoğlu had the final say in stoppage time, sending Galatasaray home with a historic 5-1 triumph.
This emphatic victory not only propels Galatasaray back to the top of the table alongside Fenerbahçe, but also rewrites the record books.
Galatasaray, for the first time in Super Lig history, scored five goals against Trabzonspor, eclipsing their previous best of four on five occasions.
Furthermore, this marks their most significant away win against Trabzonspor, surpassing their 4-0 victory in 2001. The derby win was marred by an injury to Abdülkerim Bardakcı, who received a yellow card before being substituted in the first half.
Galatasaray’s ruthless display of attacking prowess serves as a stark warning to their rivals. With Zaha firing on all cylinders and confidence soaring, the Yellow-Reds are primed to challenge for the championship in emphatic style.
Fenerbahce meanwhile dropped points at home against Samsunspor being held to a 1-1 draw. To make matters worse midfielder maestro Fred picked up an injury that could see him out for a few weeks.
Elsewhere, Besiktas’ recent resurgence took a major blow after being humiliated away against Pendikspor suffering a 4-0 defeat against the Istanbul minnows.
Elsewhere, Kasimpasa beat Hatayspor 3-0. Karagumruk and Basaksehir had a 1-1 draw as did Adana Demirspor and Ankaragucu as well ass Konayspor and Antalyaspor. Alanyaspor beat Rizespor 2-1 and Sivasspor were held to a 2-2 draw against Gaziantep.
