Monday, December 13, 2021 at 5:57 PM• Jeroen van Poppel

Galatasaray descended deeper into the Süper Lig on Monday. Fatih Terim’s team lost 1-0 to Sivasspor due to a clumsy clash between goalkeeper Fernando Muslera and teammate Christian Luyindama. It is the fifth time in a row that Galatasaray has not won. The team from Istanbul is now disappointingly ninth.

Sivasspor, which started the game as number twelve, was the better team against the more highly regarded Galatasaray. Muslera kept his team going in the second half with two beautiful saves from shots by Kerem Kesgin and Erdogan Yesilyurt. A misunderstanding between the Uruguayan goalie and center defender Luyindama put Galatasaray behind in the eightieth minute. Luyindama ran into Muslera on a deep ball, who lay battered on the ground. Sivasspor took advantage and Faycal Fajr was able to shoot the ball into the empty goal: 1-0.

Galatasaray’s players objected to referee Ümit Öztürk, who allowed play to continue while Muslera was on the ground. However, the referee did not reverse the goal. Muslera had to be replaced by second goalkeeper Ismail Cipe. Galatasaray, where Van Aanholt started in the base and Ryan Babel stayed on the bench, was unable to repair the damage in the lock.