Turkey League Wrap 26: Can anyone stop Besiktas?
Besiktas took a giant leap towards defending their league title this week.
The Black Eagles beat Genclerbirligi to move five points clear of 2nd placed Basaksehir. For this League Turkey League wrap up we partnered up with David Johnston, editor at FootballPredictions.com to give you some insights about last played round fn the Turkish Super Lig.
The Istanbul giants made light work of the Ankara based visitors. In form central midfielder Oguzhan Ozyakup opened the scoring. The player on everyones lips, Anderon Talisca scored the second. January signing Ryan Babel wrapped up the three points with the third.
See More: For more Turkish League news and everything else to do with the crazy world of Turkish football
Anderson Talisca pic.twitter.com/8K7waCM6yW
— Osman Kamer Çom (@osmankamer) April 3, 2017
The Besiktas front four, Talisca, Ricardo Quaresma, Babel and Cenk Tosun have looked unstoppable for weeks. Unless the Black Eagles suffer a major injury crisis to the fantastic four I really cannot see their ascent to the title being put to a halt.
Besiktas have been in great form but the hottest team of 2017 is actually Trabzonspor. The Black Sea based side whipped up another storm in the derby against Rizespor, beating their rivals 1-0. They managed to win without 20-year-old maestro Yusuf Yazici. Who needs Yazici when Okay Yokuslu is playing out of his skin? The Turkish international put on another top draw display in central midfield. Former Hull City man was on target yet again to net his sixth goal of the season.
With Trabzonspor unstoppable right now and Basaksehir dropping points, Galatasaray were faced with a pivotal game. A loss against Adanaspor would result in Trabzonspor making more gain. A win meanwhile would close the gap with 2nd placed Basaksehir to just four points.
Galatasaray demolished Adanaspor 4-0, Lukas Podolski bagged his 16th goal in the season in what ended up being a walk in the park.
Lukas Podolski’nin Golü
(Via @1905GSFANS ) pic.twitter.com/TgCE7Ey2Tx— The Lion King Tayfa (@TheLionKingTyF) April 3, 2017
The turnout at the Turk Telekom Arena was extremely low. There is a perception that Galatasaray are having a disaster of a season but a victory against Basaksehir next week would move them just a point within the Istanbul minnows.
In a couple of weeks there will be some big matches coming up for Besiktas. In the Europa League they will face Olympique Lyonnais.
Talking Points
- Genclerbirligi manager Umit Ozat did not take the defeat well and spent the evening insulting Besiktas boss Senol Gunes on football chat shows after the game.
- Trabzonspor have now kept a clean sheet in seven of their last nine league games
- There have been over 2.5 goals in 10 of Alanyaspor’s last 11 league games
- Podolski has directly contributed to 30 goals – 19 goals, 11 assists – in his last 48 league games
- Besiktas have never lost a Super Lig game in the Vodafone Arena
- Trabzonspor are just three points behind 4th placed Fenerbahce and have yet to lost a game in 2017
