The Super Lig title race took another twist this week with Galatasaray slipping up yet again, Fenerbahce returning to winning ways despite being without Mesut Ozil and Besiktas continuing to steam ahead.
It is crazy what a difference a fortnight can make in football. Galatasaray looked unstoppable after winning eight games in a row including a victory over rivals Fenerbahce at the Sukru Saracoglu stadium.
READ: Mesut Ozil suffers injury blow as Fenerbahce drop points against Antalyaspor
They then went and lost 2-1 to relegation battlers Ankaragucu and were held to a 2-2 draw against Sivasspor at home on the weekend.
I guess one positive to take from the game for Fatih Terim would be having Radamel Falcao scoring again.
@FALCAO ? Memories pic.twitter.com/5ANIsvRrTu
— Atleti?⚪ (@Atleti_felix) March 8, 2021
The Colombia international bagged a brace in what could end up being an important point.
The Lions looked disjointed, fatigued and put on a lackluster display.
They were without in-form striker Mostafa Mohamed who was suspended but it was a poor performance nevertheless.
It could just be a blip in the grander scheme of things and Terim is way too experienced to panic but the Yellow-Reds will need to nip this poor run in the bud before it becomes a serious problem.
Fenerbahce were the side that looked like they could be headed for a crisis. After winning just one of their last three games and an injury to Mesut Ozil it appeared that head coach Erol Bulut had lost control.
Then out of nowhere, they pulled out a very impressive display against Konyaspor, crushing them 3-0 away.
Winter signing Atilla Szalai opened the scoring, Bright Osayi-Samuel doubled the visitors lead in the first half and Serdar Aziz scored the third and final goal on 90 minutes.
Considering how well Fenerbahce played without Ozil his injury may not be as much of a blow as many pundits predicted.
??? @Fenerbahce
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) March 8, 2021
In fact, you could argue that the playmaker was perhaps rushed into the starting lineup over the last few games and not quite ready.
It will be interesting to see what Bulut does when Ozil does make a recovery.
Besiktas were, however, yet again the biggest winners this week. The Black Eagles beat Gaziantep 2-1 at home with a brace from Vincent Aboubakar who is really starting to look like the transfer of the season.
The Black-Whites signed the Cameroon international for free and he already has 15 goals and four assists in 23 league games this term.
Sen makinasın makina Aboubakar ???? pic.twitter.com/NlEJLz8yiP
— ??SametBJK77? (@Samet7BJK) March 7, 2021
The Istanbul giants have now won their last five league games and are two points clear of Galatasaray and Fenerbahce with a game in hand.
If Besiktas beat Basaksehir on Friday they will move five points ahead in the title race. A remarkable achievement for head coach Sergen Yalcin who many expected to struggle considering the financial constraints the club is currently under.
Trabzonspor meanwhile, suffered another massive blow to their title hopes losing 3-1 to Alanyaspor and falling nine points behind leaders Besiktas in the process.
At the bottom of the table Genclerbirligi lost yet again. Basaksehir beat the Ankara-based side 1-0 to move three points clear of the relegation zone.
Denizlispor got a rare win beating Malatyaspor 3-2 to stay in 20th place.
Ankaragucu’s mini-renaissance continued with a 1-0 win over Karagumruk, following their shock victory over Galatasaray. The Ankara side are now just two points away from breaking out of the drop zone.
Erzurumspor’s dismal form continued with a 3-1 defeat to Goztepe which keeps them in 18th place.
Rizespor meanwhile continue to spiral to the pits of the table after losing yet again, this time to Kayserispor. They now find themselves in 17th place just two points above Erzurum.
