Turkish League Wrap: Are Basaksehir the Turkish Leicester City?

By
Emre Sarigul
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An Istanbul based outfit currently top the Turkish Super Lig – no surprise there. The huge surprise is that it is not Galatasaray, Besiktas or Fenerbahce at the top but Basaksehir. We take a look at the latest round of league games in Turkey.

Rizespor 2-1 Genclerbirligi

Rizespor beat Genclerbirligi at home thanks to a late winner from Kweuke. The visitors have now lost two games in a row and are at risk of undoing the hard work they put in to build up a decent run of results at the start of the season.

Gaziantepspor 1-2 Kayserispor

Newly promoted Kayserispor have Deniz Turuc to thank for avoiding a third consecutive defeat. The 23-year-old Netherlands born midfielder of Turkish origin equalised from the penalty spot before scoring a brilliant free-kick effort to take his side out of the relegation zone.

Alanyaspor 0-2 Bursaspor

On-loan Chelsea defender Kenneth Omeruo has had an inconsistent start to the season. The Nigerian international has performed well in the big games which saw Alanyaspor beat Trabzonspor and hold Fenerbahce to a 1-1 draw. The 22-year-old defender has however, lacked concentration at times against teams perceived to be ‘small club’ – ironic considering his side were only promoted over the summer. Alanyaspor keeper Zlaman spilled the ball from a Bursaspor shot which Omeruo attempted to clear but his mis-kick resulted in Cristobal Jorquera to put the away side ahead on 85 minutes – he then doubled the score soon after.

Galatasaray 0-1 Trabzonspor

Usually Trabzonspor beating Galatasaray would not be considered an upset however, considering the kind of form the Black Sea Storm have been in the result did come as a surprise. Dame N’Doye scored the only goal of the game and the stats clearly show that the away side had to hang on for dear life at stages of the games. The Lions had 21 attempts on goal compared to Trabzonspor’s four. The Istanbul giants completed 413 more passes than their rivals and 40 percent of the game was played in the away sides half. But the only stat that really mattered at the end of the day was the scoreline.

Akhisar 1-0 Adanaspor This early relegation clash saw Akhisar take all three points and snap a three game winless streak. Newly promoted Adanaspor meanwhile have dropped into 17th place on just five points.

Karabukspor 0-2 Basaksehir

Not many people would have expected a side other than the big Istanbul three or potentially Trabzonspor to be in first place eight weeks into the league. Nobody would have expected Basaksehir to be first but the Istanbul minnows – perhaps a term they have outgrown – are in pole position and the only side in the league other than reigning champions Besiktas to have not lost a single game this season. Head coach Abdullah Avci has been working wonders on a shoestring budget for years at Basaksehir and quite frankly deserves a lot more credit than he receives in Turkey. The Istanbul based outfit managed to beat a Karabukspor side that had won all three home games this season. It is time to start wondering whether Basaksehir could end up being the Turkish equivalent of Leicester City.

Osmanlispor 1-2 Kasimpasa

Adem Buyuk scored the winning goal for Kasimpasa to extend a decent run of form which has seen the Istanbul based side pick up seven points from a maximum nine over their last three games – inflicting Osmanlispor’s first league defeat of the season in the process.

Besiktas 3-0 Antalyaspor

The Black Eagles have had a pretty impressive week. Just days after beating Napoli 3-2 in Italy – Besiktas’ first victory over Italian opposition in Europe and Napoli’s first home defeat in the Champions League – the Istanbul giants made light work of Antalyaspor. As a testament to the strength of the current Besiktas team, Talisca – who did not even feature against Napoli – was the star of the show scoring a brace and it would have been a hat-trick had the post not denied him. Vincent Aboubakar scored his first goal for his new club against Napoli – well he scored a brace – and he also found the back of the net against the Scorpions with an incredible effort from outside the penalty area.

Konyaspor 0-1 Fenerbahce

The Yellow Canaries were in need of a moral boosting victory following their 4-0 hammering at the hands of Manchester United in the Europa League on Thursday. Fenerbahce got the win thanks to a penalty from Emmaneul Emenike. The win moved Fenerbahce into a more respective fifth place – they were temporality in the bottom half of the table – eight points behind the leaders.

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