Galatasaray took another important step toward defending their SüperLig title in the derby against Besiktas. Sané played a key role in the match—albeit involuntarily in the 62nd minute.
Okan Buruk had some difficult personnel decisions to make on Saturday evening. With at least one eye on the important Champions League round of 16 match against Liverpool, Galatasaray’s head coach was probably already thinking ahead to the city derby against Besiktas.
The first leg will be played on Tuesday evening in their own stadium. A good starting position is all the more important given their striking weakness away from home in Europe – also because visiting fans will not be allowed into Anfield following a UEFA penalty.
At the same time, however, Buruk was aware of Besiktas’ strong form, having won their last four games and last lost on November 2. At that time, they lost the city derby against Fenerbahce (2-3). That’s why Galatasaray’s coach didn’t experiment and sent both Sané and goal-scoring machine Osimhen onto the field. It was this duo that made the difference on Saturday evening: In the 39th minute, Besiktas was far too passive and apathetic in its own defensive play. Sané was allowed to lift his head at the right corner of the penalty area and cross the ball softly to the far post. There was no sign of a defender marking Osimhen, who headed the ball powerfully in from close range (39′).
All five substitutions after Sané’s sending off
Galatasaray took a deserved lead into the break, but it was in jeopardy after an hour. That was because Sané was sent off for the first time in his long professional career at club level. The former Munich player, who had never received a yellow-red card and had only been sent off once for the DFB team (0-2 against Austria), tackled his opponent Ridvan so badly that referee Ozan Ergün reached into his back pocket after reviewing the video footage (62′).
Buruk, who was himself shown a yellow card in stoppage time, stabilized his team with substitutions. Boey was the first of a total of five Cimbom substitutions after Sané’s red card. In the end, Galatasaray won 1-0, keeping the pressure on pursuers Fenerbahçe (seven points behind, one game less).
But now the Liverpool game awaits, for which Sané is eligible to play. In the SüperLig, the Essen-born player has only missed four games so far this season.