The drama never ends in the Super Lig. Just when it looked like Basaksehir were running away with the league title they slipped up with a 1-1 draw away to Kayserispor.
The league leaders were fortunate to escape with a single point after a last-gasp equaliser thanks to a contentious penalty decision.
Basaksehir were awarded a penalty in the eighth minute of additional time after the referee decided there was a handball in the box.
We will let you decide whether the spot-kick should have stood or not.
Sizce penaltı doğru karar mı?
Kayserispor 1-1 Başakşehir
Tüm videolar için • @KramponSport pic.twitter.com/ocNizMwEFz
— Krampon Media (@KramponUefaTV) March 17, 2019
There is a perception among many fans in Turkey that Basaksehir are receiving preferential treatment. It does not take much for Turkish fans to latch onto a conspiracy theory so the penalty decision probably won’t do the Istanbul minnows any favors in the long run.
With Basaksehir slipping up it gave second-placed Galatasaray to chance to close the gap to six points.
All they had to do was beat Bursaspor. Simple right? Wrong!
The Green Crocodiles scored twice inside the opening 45 minutes. It looked like the Lions were going to blow it.
To make matters worse they were playing at the Crocodile Arena – Bursaspor are nicknamed the ‘Crocodiles’ in case you were wondering.
Badou Ndiaye managed to pull a goal back in additional time at the end of the first half giving the visitors a glimmer of hope.
Then up stepped Mbaye Diagne to equalise from the penalty spot. Sofiane Feghouli followed up with a stunning winner on 62 minutes.
Bursaspor 2-3 Galatasaray
62' Feghouli pic.twitter.com/McqcCmmAET— GOLALOO (@golaloo) March 17, 2019
Galatasaray head into the international break with all the momentum. Basaksehir have a tough run of fixtures coming up with games against Konyaspor followed by third-placed Besiktas.
Speaking of Besiktas they managed to beat Goztepe 1-0 and keep a clean sheet. Loris Karius was booed by the fans and criticised by his manager last week. He responded by shutting out the opposition for just the sixth time this season.
He then went and shared a social media post with the ‘shushing’ emoji. This was interpreted as being directed at the fans. Let’s just say it didn’t go down too well.
⚽️❌?? pic.twitter.com/WaRMQMWPsf
— Loris Karius (@LorisKarius) March 16, 2019
With relegation battlers Goztepe, Bursaspor and Ankaragucu – to Malatyaspor – all losing it gave Fenerbahce the chance to put some distance between themselves and the bottom three.
See More: Loris Karius Sparks Controversy On Social Media After Keeping Clean Sheet For Besiktas
As you’d expect with how things have gone for the Yellow Canaries this season they did not score the opening goal against Sivasspor. They did however, manage to score twice in the second half with goals from Roberto Soldado and the filthiest nutmeg you’ll ever see from Mehmet Ekici.
The win moved the Yellow Navy-Blues into 13th place – just four points ahead of 16th placed Goztepe.
Elsewhere Rizespor continue their ascent up the table after beating 6th placed Konyaspor. Kasimpasa finally got their first win of 2019 against last-placed Akhisar. Trabzonspor kept open the six-point gap between themselves and 5th placed Malatyaspor after beating Erzurumspor 1-0. And in the Mediterranean derby, Antalyaspor crushed Alanyaspor 3-0.
