Saturday, September 11, 2021 at 21:08• Daniel Cabot Kerkdijk • Last update: 21:27

Besiktas did good business in the Süper Lig on Saturday night. The team of trainer Sergen Yalcin had little trouble at home with Yeni Malatyaspor, which in no time at all faced a double deficit in the Vodafone Park: 3-0. It is only for the third time in the history of the Turkish league that Besiktas, one of the three opponents of Ajax in the Champions League, has not conceded a goal after four match days, after 1968/69 and 1985/86.

The start of Besiktas in the match was great: after ten minutes of play, the reigning national champion was already ahead 2-0. After three minutes, the opening goal appeared on the scoreboard: Batshuayi came face to face with goalkeeper Abdulsamed Damlu after a flawless pass from debutant Miralem Pjanic and blasted the ball under the goalkeeper.

A few minutes later it was hit again thanks to Georges-Kévin N’Koudou. The attacker mounted a lovely attack on the left side of the penalty area and eventually shot in from close range when a blocked shot came at his feet. Besiktas’ 3-0, seven minutes after the interruption, was a gift from Damlu. The goalkeeper wanted to kick a back pass and aimed the leather at Batshuayi’s rear, who saw the ball go into the goal.

That was also the final score in Istanbul, where Oguzhan Özyakup did not get off the bench. Besiktas and Konyaspor will stay overnight as joint leaders, but can be passed again on Sunday. Trabzonspor, nine points, plays at home against Galatasaray. which has two points less. Fenerbahçe also has nine points for the time being: Vitor Pereira’s team plays at home against Sivasspor.