Turkish Super Lig Weekly: Galatasaray and Osimhen pull away but Fenerbahce remain in race
At the minute, it is looking like no one can stop Galatasaray. The league leaders took on second place Samsunspor on Sunday afternoon, knowing a win against one of the surprise packages would strengthen their grip on top spot.
And despite conceding a pair of penalties, Okan Buruk's men were simply far too good for their opponents, winning 3-2 at Rams Park to make it 10 wins and a draw from their first 11 games of the season.
Galatasaray's spirits were slightly dampened following their memorable win over Tottenham in the Europa League a few days earlier after it had been confirmed that striker Mauro Icardi would miss the rest of the season with an ACL injury.
However, fans were confident that it wouldn't be as big a blow as it potentially could have been, solely due to the fact that they have one of the world's best strikers on their hands: Victor Osimhen.
The Nigerian international scored twice against Spurs on Thursday, and followed that up with an imperious centre-forward display against Samsunspor. Osimhen bagged yet another brace for the two-time defending champions, including a brilliant thumping header to open the scoring after a few minutes of the match.
Osimhen celebrated his first goal by holding up Icardi's shirt to the home faithful, as well as doing the Argentine's trademark celebration, with Icardi in the crowd watching on.
He has now scored eight goals and provided four assists in nine games for the club, and reports in Turkey over the last week have claimed that Galatasaray are negotiating with Napoli as they look to make his signing permanent at the end of the season. Only time will tell whether they can pull the deal off or not.
Michy Batshuayi came off the bench late in the game to score their third, and despite the tight scoreline, they were in control and never really looked like losing.
They will be frustrated with some of the soft penalties that they are conceding this season though. Of the 11 goals they have conceded in the league, six of them have been from the spot.
But with Osimhen leading the line and loving life in Istanbul, the issue for opposition teams is finding a way to stop a team with such attacking firepower.
Fenerbahce regain focus
After a week of antics from Jose Mourinho and a midweek loss to AZ Alkmaar, Fenerbahce finally regained some focus and poise, dismantling Sivasspor 4-0. It was a really good performance from Mourinho's men, with Turkish midfielder Mert Hakan Yandas playing well in place of Fred, who was rested.
Defender Samet Akaydin, Dusan Tadic and Allain Saint-Maximin all got on the scoresheet, while Sofyan Amrabat - who has settled into life very quickly at the club - also bagged a thunderbolt from long range.
The win saw Fenerbahce leapfrog Samsunspor into second and move five points behind Galatasaray, and they will be pleased that they avoided making the headlines for the wrong reasons this week. A straightforward victory with little controversy was the perfect way to head into the international break.
One team who may also be pleased that the international break is arriving are Besiktas. After making a rapid start to the season, things have come crashing down a little bit in the last few weeks. A pretty dismal 0-0 draw against Istanbul Basaksehir on Sunday was the first point they had picked up in three games, falling to fifth and 10 points behind the league leaders.
Even though it is early days still, it is hard to see Galatasaray dropping that many points, so they may be slipping out of the title race already. They managed to muster just one shot on target on the weekend and look to be struggling in the final third. Giovanni van Bronckhorst will need to turn things around - and fast.
One side who managed to capitalise on Besiktas' dropped points are Super Lig debutants Eyupspor, who continue to defy all expectations under Arda Turan.
A 1-0 win against a crippled Adana Demirspor - who are almost certainly facing relegation this season after accumulating just two points in 11 games - saw them move into the top four ahead of Besiktas, confirming themselves as one of the stories of the season.
Highlight of the Week
Making the rounds on social media in the last few days has been a spectacular passage of play from Galatasaray, which saw Davinson Sanchez produce a brilliant piece of skill in the box, before crossing the ball for fellow centre-back Abulkderim Bardakci, whose incredible overhead kick come off the post. The ball then ricocheted back to Sanchez, who controlled the ball and executed his own stunning overhead kick, which flew just over the bar.
Some good examples of the modern-day defender!
Team of the Week
Osimhen is unquestionably the player of the week after his brilliant performance and brace against Samsunspor. Fenerbahce trio Mert Hakan, Saint-Maximin and Tadic all also make the team according to Flashscore's player rating system, while a pair of Rizespor players find their way in after an impressive 3-1 victory over Trabzonspor.