Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 9:29 PM• Daniel Cabot Kerkdijk • Last update: 21:44

The battle for the national title in Turkey will be decided next Saturday on the 40th and very last day of play. Besiktas suffered a surprising home defeat against Fatih Karagümrük on Tuesday evening, three days after the 3-1 defeat at Galatasaray, and remains at 81 points. Rival Galatasaray won big against Denizlispor at the same time and now has the same number of points. Fenerbahçe remains at 79 points after the defeat against Sivasspor.

Besiktas – Fatih Karagümrük 1-2
The teams of Sergen Yalcin and Francesco Farioli held each other in balance for a long time in the first half, but six minutes before the break, the visitors struck. After a neat attack over several discs, Juro Balkovec gave a low lead from the left towards the penalty spot, where Andrea Bertolacci was earlier with the ball than goalkeeper Ersin Destanoglu: 0-1.

Less than ten minutes after the break, Rachid Ghezzal was the one who put the 1-1 on the scoreboard. Cyle Larin was hardly tackled on the left side of the penalty area and his pass towards the far post was worked diagonally by Ghezzal behind goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano.

Fatih Karagümrük, where Jeremain Lens remained on the bench, had to continue with ten men thirteen minutes before the end when Ervin Zukanovic received his second yellow card for obstructing substitute Bernard Mensah. Despite the under-game situation, the visitors still came to 1-2 when the Besiktas defense defended very laconically and Fabio Borini finished a ball from Alassane Ndao wonderfully.

Denizlispor – Galatasaray 1-4
Terim’s team laid the foundation for the victory in Denizli Atatürk in the first half. After more than twenty minutes, the 0-1 fell: goalkeeper Abdulkadir Sünger missed a corner from Gedson Fernandes from the left, after which Halil Dervisoglu headed the ball in. After just over half an hour of play, the 0-2 fell. Babel tried to penetrate the penalty area on the left, past Muhammet Ozkal, after which his opponent touched the ball with his hand. The leather went on the dot and the the Dutch-international shot the ball high in the right corner behind Sünger.

A few minutes before half-time, Galatasaray, where Ryan Donk had a basic place, just like Babel, received another penalty, although referee Abdulkadir Bitigen needed help from the VAR. The ball on Sakib Aytac’s elbow was clear and this time it was not Babel but Emre Akbaba who took the eleven-meter kick. Sünger, however, returned the not-so-best bet. An important save, as Denizlispor brought back the tension in the game after an hour of play. Recep Niyaz shot the ball low in the left corner after an individual action by Matthieu Dossevi.

In the final phase, Galatasaray eventually ran out via Mostafa Mohamed. The attacker, who came in for Akbaba after an hour, used a penalty kick and also shot the ball from close range after preparatory work by Henri Onyekuru, who had come in for Babel after an hour of play.

Fenerbahçe – Sivasspor 1-2
The first half was one to quickly forget about Fenerbahçe. The better chances were for Sivasspor, in the ninth minute Irfan Kahveci retired with a hamstring injury and the visitors opened the score just before half time. Max Gradel shot just wide in the second minute, Olarenwaju Kayode then hit the post and then there was another good chance for Gradel, before Kayode opened the score. The striker was at the far post and extended the ball with the thigh, after a hard shot by Fayçal Fajr that threatened to go in front. In the opening phase of the second half, Hakan Arslan made it 0-2 from a header after a cross from Gradel. Deep in injury time, after Ferdi Kadioglu came on, Papiss Cissé did something back: 1-2.

Last match day
Besiktas will visit Göztepe on the last day of play and Galatasaray will close the season at home against Yeni Malatyaspor. Fenerbahçe plays out against Kayserispor. Besiktas won 2-0 at home against Galatasaray, which in turn was 3-1 too strong for the city rivals last weekend. The goal difference is therefore decisive and that is in Besiktas’ favor: +44 to +42.