45 fouls in the main Turkish derby! Great race for the Super League championship
Grigory Telingater December 24, 2023, 21:38 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe fought more than they played football.
The main match of the first round of the championship took place in Türkiye. Fenerbahçe hosted Galatasaray, the two best teams in the country, 13 points behind third place. Many famous footballers met on the field: Dominik Livakovic, Dusan Tadic, Edin Dzeko on one side and Mauro Icardi, Dries Mertens and Hakim Ziyech on the other. At the same time, Galatasaray is the current champion and Fenerbahçe has failed to win the title for the tenth year.
As expected, the match was very tough. Already in the 12th minute, Bright Osayi-Samuel received a yellow card for a sudden jump at the opponent’s feet. During the match there were many confrontations and disputes with the referee. And judges in Turkey are now receiving special attention amid scandals.
Resonant case in Turkish football:
They punched the judge in the face and started kicking him! Hell in the game of the former CSKA player
While there was a lot of fighting, there wasn’t much actual football. In the first half, the foul score was 10:10 and the score on the scoreboard was 0:0. In reality, the goals had nowhere to come. Before the break no one had shot on goal and, in general, there were simply no truly dangerous moments.
You could say that the guests had a slight advantage during the first hour. Galatasaray had more possession of the ball and shot on goal more frequently. However, in the 61st minute, Fenerbahçe had a great opportunity. Former Dynamo midfielder Sebastian Szymanski (also wearing number 53 in Turkey) shot from the area and narrowly missed the far corner. And soon another Fenerbahçe player, Joshua King, was hitting dangerously.
Fenerbahce – Galatasaray
Photo: Ahmad Mora/Getty Images
Galatasaray responded in the 77th minute. After a free kick cross to the far post, Abdulkerim Bardakchi finished from a meter away. Fener goalkeeper Livakovic made the most impressive save of the match. Overall, Galatasaray looked solid this season in the Champions League compared to teams like Bayern and Manchester United, but now in the derby they looked less constructive in attack.
The match ended without goals. It is significant that up to 45 fouls were accumulated during the match. If we take into account the pure playing time, then a violation of the rules occurred almost every minute. Thus, Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe continued to share first place in points. This seems to suit both clubs.
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