Sunday, May 2, 2021 at 9:22 PM• Mart van Mourik • Last update: 21:30

Galatasaray booked a simple victory in the Süper Lig on Sunday evening. Visiting Gençlerbirligi, Halil Dervisoglu shot Cim Bom before half time took the lead, after which Emre Akbaba put the 0-2 final score on the scoreboard in the second half. Ryan Babel and Ryan Donk were involved in the goals with front assists. With three games to go, number two Galatasaray (75 points) is six points behind leader Besiktas (81). Fenerbahçe (73) can take second place on Monday, provided it manages to beat Erzurumspor BB.

Babel had a base spot for Galatasaray for the first time in three games, which took the lead just before half-time. The the Dutch-international served Taylan Antalyali, who in turn played Dervisoglu tight. The ex-player from Sparta Rotterdam and FC Twente, among others, turned open, kept two opponents away and fired from about twenty meters with the left leg in the right corner. Earlier in the first half, Galatasaray had already come close to scoring twice. Babel shot just wide and then prepared a serious chance from Ömer Bayram.

Seven minutes after the break, Akbaba doubled the score. Donk, just like Babel basic player, sent a long ball from a free kick. Just outside the penalty area, Dervisoglu headed the ball through to Akbaba, who took the leather in one go and found the left corner. Akbaba also seemed to make the 0-3, this time after preparatory work by Babel. The Dutchman received a long ball from behind, put a block in front of his guard and Akbaba in the penalty area, after which the midfielder searched the right corner. However, Babel turned out to have touched the ball by hand. In the final quarter, Marcão came close to another goal with a header, but the scoreboard did not move anymore.