A preliminary decision has been made in the Turkish league championship. Leaders Galatasaray clearly won the explosive derby against rivals Fenerbahce 3:0.
The derby between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce is always explosive anyway, and Sunday evening’s clash was also dominated by the championship battle. Preliminary decision or new tension? Both teams could decide their fate.
Fener got off to the better start and had the chance to make it 1-0 from the spot after 13 minutes. Sanchez denied Cherif in the penalty area, but Talisca missed the penalty to the right. Ten minutes later, Galatasaray vehemently demanded a penalty at the other end after Nene tripped Sané – but this time the whistle from referee Yasin Kol remained silent.
It was a highly intense game, with both sides giving each other nothing – and of course it was also heated (five yellow cards in the first half). Visually, Galatasaray were clearly superior – with 62 percent possession and 21:3 shots on goal. One of these attempts found its way into the net in the 40th minute: Lemina extended a long throw-in to Osimhen, who took the ball with his head and bent it over Ederson into the left corner with his right knee.
Disrespectful behavior from Ederson
Fener were looking for a direct response, but Talisca shot just wide left shortly before the break (45.+1). The visitors urgently needed to improve their attacking play in the second half, but were unable to do so. Instead, Galatasaray worked on making it 2-0 – with goals from Osimhen (55′) and Torreia (57′) for offside, the home side were celebrating too early.
Galatasaray kept the pressure on – and were awarded a penalty after an hour: Oosterwolde left his leg out against Akgün, a clear-cut case. Before the penalty was taken, Fener keeper Ederson, who had already been cautioned, displayed disrespectful behavior, ignoring the referee’s instructions and spitting on the ground in front of him. The former City goalkeeper was quite rightly sent off for this. Yilmaz remained cool after all the excitement and converted safely to make it 2:0 (67′).
Torreira makes it all clear
With the match now decided, Fener struggled in vain while short-handed. From the visitors’ point of view, it was to get even worse: after a misunderstanding between Günok and Brown, Torreira only had to push the ball into the empty net – 3:0 (83′). Galatasaray were now certain of victory and relaxed a little too much, allowing Cherif and Musaba to create chances for a consolation goal in stoppage time. However, Galatasaray keeper Cakir ended the derby without conceding a goal.
The 3-0 win puts Galatasaray on course for their 26th Turkish championship. With three matchdays to go, they have a seven-point lead over their fancied rivals Fenerbahce. Galatasaray can clinch the title next weekend with a win at Samsunspor.