Istanbul: Galatasaray regained the top spot in the Turkish Super Lig after a hard-fought and thrilling 3-2 victory over visiting Goztepe last night at Rams Park Stadium, in the third round of the competition. Galatasaray now has 7 points at the top of the table, ahead of Gen§lerbirligi on goal difference, who dropped to second place. Goztepe remains on one point in fifteenth place.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the first half ended in a 1-1 draw after the visitors opened the scoring in the 16th minute through Tanzanian Novatus Mirushi, who capitalized on a header from his Brazilian teammate Andr© Henrique following a corner kick, converting the ball from close range.

Colombian defender Davinson Sanchez equalized for Galatasaray in the 33rd minute, following a free kick taken by Hungarian Roland Szalai into the penalty area. Emirati Richard Akonnor attempted to clear the ball with his head, but it deflected off Sanchez’s chest and into the net.

In the second half, Brazilian Gabriel Sara gave the home side the lead in the 55th minute, capitalizing on a backheel pass from Nigerian Victor Osimhen to fire a precise left-footed shot from inside the box. Osimhen then extended Galatasaray’s lead to 3-1 from the penalty spot in the 63rd minute, awarded after a VAR review showed the Nigerian striker had been fouled inside the area by Richard Akonnor.

Brazilian Juan pulled one back for G¶ztepe in the 65th minute with a powerful left-footed shot from inside the penalty area after a long throw-in. Three minutes later, VAR disallowed a fourth Galatasaray goal, a header by Osimhen, for offside, and the match ended with a 3-2 victory for the home side.

In other matches in the same round, Kocaeli defeated Konyaspor 2-1, and Rizespor beat Gaziantep by the same score.