Galatasaray has strengthened its lead in the Turkish Süper Lig. Thanks to a goal by debutant Nicolò Zaniolo, the team of coach Okan Buruk was 1-0 too strong for Kasimpasa. Due to the victory, leader Galatasaray is now nine points clear of number two Fenerbahçe, which still has a game credit. Kasimpasa occupies thirteenth place and is only two points above the line.
On the side of Galatasaray, the injured Dries Mertens was missing. The Belgian was replaced in 10th position by Juan Mata, so Zaniolo had to wait a while for his official debut. The flanks were occupied by Yunus Akgün and Kerem Aktürkoglu. Mauro Icardi was the striker on duty. At Kasimpasa, Ryan Donk was in the base. The 36-year-old defender played the entire game. Mickaël Tirpan, ex-Fortuna Sittard, was also in the base with the visitors, but was taken aside early.
In the opening phase, Icardi seemed to be on his way to the opening goal, but the Argentinian saw that Kasimpasa goalkeeper Günay Güvenç reached the ball earlier. Ten minutes later, Sérgio Oliveira made a crucial intervention in a counter-attack by the visitors. The setback for Galatasaray was Mata’s injury. The Spaniard was replaced by Milot Rashica. After 33 minutes, Lucas Torreira was responsible for Galatasaray’s first shot on goal. However, the Uruguayan saw Güvenç intervene adequately again. The closing post also had an answer to a header from Icardi five minutes before the end.
Zaniolo replaced Mata at the start of the second half and just twelve minutes after his entrance he scored his first goal for Cim Bomb. Rashica served the uncovered Italian, who was given all the time and space to work the ball with the inside left behind Güvenç: 1-0. Almost immediately after the opening goal, Fodé Koita had a good chance on behalf of Kasimpasa, but the striker saw his effort end up wide of the goal. On the other hand, Aktürkoglu had a good opportunity. The Turk saw the ball end up in front of his feet and bumped into Fabiano Silva. Galatasaray went on the hunt for the decisive goal, but the team from Istanbul lacked sharpness in front of the goal. For example, substitute Bafétimbi Gomis went wide in a promising position. Because Kasimpasa also failed to find the net, the game ended in 1-0.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | v | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galatasaray | 24 | 19 | 3 | 2 | 34 | 60 |
| 2 | Fenerbahce | 23 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 33 | 51 |
| 3 | Besiktas | 23 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 16 | 43 |
| 4 | Adana Demirspor | 23 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 21 | 42 |
| 5 | Medipol Basaksehir | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 40 |
| 6 | Trabzonspor | 23 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 38 |
| 7 | Kayserispor | 24 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 35 |
| 8 | Fatih Karagumruk | 23 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 30 |
| 9 | Konyaspor | 23 | 6 | 10 | 7 | -2 | 28 |
| 10 | Antalyaspor | 24 | 8 | 4 | 12 | -6 | 28 |
| 11 | Alanyaspor | 23 | 7 | 7 | 9 | -7 | 28 |
| 12 | Gaziantep FC | 23 | 6 | 7 | 10 | -2 | 25 |
| 13 | KasImpasa | 24 | 7 | 4 | 13 | -13 | 25 |
| 14 | Sivasspor | 23 | 6 | 6 | 11 | -6 | 24 |
| 15 | Giresunspor | 24 | 5 | 8 | 11 | -19 | 23 |
| 16 | Hatayspor | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | -22 | 23 |
| 17 | Ankaragucu | 22 | 6 | 4 | 12 | -10 | 22 |
| 18 | Istanbulspor | 22 | 6 | 3 | 13 | -22 | 21 |
| 19 | Umraniyespor | 23 | 4 | 6 | 13 | -13 | 18 |