Turkish Super Lig Weekly: Galatasaray extend lead at top as Samsunspor enter equation
After their seismic win at Fenerbahce in the Intercontinental Derby just two weeks ago, the pressure on manager Okan Buruk had considerably eased. But such is the volatile and fickle nature of football, his tactical and coaching acumen was called into question again following back-of-back collapses.
Last weekend, Galatasaray threw away a three-goal lead at home to Kasimpasa to draw 3-3, before a humiliating 2-2 draw against Latvian side Riga from two goals up in the Europa League.
However, courtesy of a resurgent Yunus Akgun, Galatasaray defeated Alanyaspor 1-0 on Sunday, putting them in a fine position heading into the international break.
Despite the slender scoreline, it was a relatively comfortable victory for Cimbom, who - led by another brilliant performance from former Tottenham centre-back Davinson Sanchez - kept their opponents quiet for 90 minutes.
With the help of the superb Gabriel Sara, Yunus was the man to score the winner, with the 24-year-old Turkish attacker dinking over the keeper to cap off an excellent performance and overall run of form.
After coming through the Galatasaray youth ranks, there were high expectations of Yunus - a player so easy on the eye and blessed with bags of natural ability. However, he has never been able to fine-tune his end product, and as a result, spent a number of spells out on loan, including at Enzo Maresca's Leicester City last season.
But this season, with Kerem Akturkoglu, Wilfried Zaha and Tete all leaving, more responsibility has been placed on his shoulders, and he has stepped up to the plate. Yunus has scored four goals in his last six games and has been one of Galatasaray's best players since coming into the starting lineup.
With all the added football this season, Yunus has found form at the perfect time, and fans will be desperate to see him continue in this vein throughout the campaign.
A good weekend for Galatasaray was made even better as Besiktas dropped points following a 1-1 draw at Gaziantep.
Managed by Galatasaray's legendary midfielder Selcuk Inan, Gaziantep missed a whole host of chances throughout the game, and it looked like they were going to succumb to a loss after Ciro Immobile's first-half penalty.
But in the 95th minute, midfielder Alexandru Maxim thumped home to claim a point for Gaziantep, which leaves Besiktas five points behind the champions, albeit with a game in hand.
Despite the draw, manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst has made a good start in charge of Besiktas, especially considering that they finished a staggering 46 points off Galatasaray last season.
But he is coming under some scrutiny for his use (or misuse) of 19-year-old Semih Kilicsoy. One of Turkey's young starlets, Semih was a shining light in Besiktas's poor 2023/24 season, scoring 11 goals and picking up three assists in just 23 games.
Under Van Bronckhorst, Semih hasn't started since the end of August and didn't even come off the bench against Gaziantep.
Are Joao Mario and Milot Rashica better options than Semih? I am not so sure, so it will be interesting to see if he is given a chance in the team sooner rather than later.
Fenerbahce were not in action this weekend due to having 19 teams in the league - one different team doesn't play from round to round.
Samsunspor soar into second
So perhaps expectedly, Galatasaray are leading the way. But I don't think anyone thought that Samsunspor would be second in the table heading into the October international break.
Former Bochum and Schalke manager Thomas Reis took charge this summer and has guided his side to six wins and two losses from their first eight Super Lig games.
Their 3-1 win over the seriously struggling Adana Demirspor was their fourth in a row, with Landry Dimata scoring a 93rd-minute winner. They are now four points off the summit.
Up first for them after the international break is a home match against Fenerbahce.
One of the most exciting teams in the league at the minute has to be Goztepe. They managed to clinch a 3-2 win over Sivasspor this weekend, as Chelsea loanee David Datro Fofana scored an injury-time winner.
Brazilian striker Romulo Cardoso bagged his fourth goal of the season too, and as mentioned in a previous edition of Super Lig Weekly, he is a striker to keep an eye on. He looks like a guarantee of goals in Turkey.
Goztepe have now scored 11 times in their last four games, and have scored three or more goals in three consecutive games.
Highlight of the Week
Konyaspor defeated Arda Turan's impressive Eyupspor 2-1 on Sunday, and Danijel Aleksic was the match-winner in the 97th minute with this fantastic scissor kick.
Team of the Week
Yunus Akgun and Gabriel Sara both make this Team of the Week, while three Goztepe players make the cut, including the star of the week, Isaac Solet, who capped off a supreme midfield performance with a goal. Samsunspor hero Landry Dimata partners Romulo Cardoso up front.