Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 6:59 PM• Dominic Mostert

Fenerbahçe did not manage to level up with leader Besiktas in points on Thursday evening. The number two of the Süper Lig remitted 1-1 at Sivasspor, which climbs through the point to twelfth place. Besiktas already won 1-4 against Karagümrük earlier in the day. Fenerbahçe, without the injured Ferdi Kadioglu, now has two points less than Besiktas and three points more than number three Galatasaray.

The match opened with a serious opportunity for Sivasspor. Fenerbahçe’s defender Marcel Tisserand tried to head the ball back to goalkeeper Altay Bayindir, but the ball gave me too little power. As a result, striker Mustafa Yatabare was able to intervene and shot wide of the goal. It was an unfortunate afternoon for Tisserand anyway, as a few minutes later the Congolese had to be replaced by stretcher with an apparently serious injury.

After seventeen minutes, Sivasspor opened the score. A turning corner from Fayçal Fajr was initially headed away by Fenerbahçe’s defense, but that allowed Max Gradel to strike from the second line. His effort was subtly extended by the heel by Yatabare, who hit the target. Just before half time, however, Fenerbahçe came alongside. A penalty kick offered the visitors a solution: Enner Valencia hit hard through the middle and balanced the score.

The penalty was the result of a handball from Sivasspor. Hakan Mert Yandas, who stood out a week ago by handing a kick to Aytac Kara and therefore got red in the cup match with Kasimpasa (1-0 win), conquered the ball just outside the penalty area and searched the far corner. His shot resulted in a handball from Aaron Appidangoye and a penalty. Ten minutes before the end, Sivasspor had a great opportunity to claim the victory, but a bet from Robin Yalçin was turned and the home team was also not accurate in the rebound.