Istanbul: Galatasaray, the defending champions, narrowly overcame their hosts, Basaksehir, with a 3-2 victory on Friday evening at the Fatih Terim Stadium in Istanbul, in the opening match of the fourth round of the Turkish Super Lig. Galatasaray secured their third consecutive win, bringing their points tally to 10 and temporarily placing them at the top of the league table, three points ahead of Gen§lerbirligi, who will visit Trabzonspor on Sunday. Basaksehir remain on four points in ninth place.
According to National Iraqi News Agency, Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen opened the scoring for the visitors in the 16th minute with a powerful right-footed shot from outside the penalty area that struck the crossbar and bounced back into play. The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) confirmed that the ball had crossed the goal line.
In the second half, Uzbek player Eldor Shomurodov equalized for Basaksehir in the 66th minute from a penalty kick, awarded after Hungarian Roland Szalai fouled Uzbek player Abbasbek Faizuliev inside the penalty area.
Uruguayan Lucas Torreira restored Galatasaray’s lead in the 74th minute after a series of short passes inside the penalty area, before receiving the ball from Senegalese Ismail Jacobs and expertly volleying it with his right foot from the center of the box into the bottom right corner.
However, Galatasaray defender Davinson S¡nchez inadvertently put Basaksehir back into the game in the 76th minute, attempting to clear a cross from a corner kick but instead deflecting it into his own net past goalkeeper Orjan ‚¬Å¡¬€¦¡¬¡akir.
Basaksehir were forced to play with ten men from the 79th minute after substitute Umut Bozok received a straight red card for a dangerous tackle on new Portuguese signing Rafael Leo.
Galatasaray capitalized on their numerical advantage to score the winning third goal in the 90th minute through Brazilian Gabriel Sara, who unleashed a perfectly placed left-footed shot from outside the penalty area following a direct free kick, sealing a 3-2 victory for the visitors.