Defending Spor Toto Super League champion Bursaspor beat Galatasaray 2-0 on Sunday, consigning the Istanbul side to its worst-ever start to the season.
A brace of goals by Ivan Ergic helped the Crocs to win at Ali Sami Yen Stadium, showing that Bursaspor is still in form and more than a one-season wonder. After a 1-0 win over Konyaspor on Monday, Bursaspor got the best of Galatasaray as well to maintain a perfect start to the season.
For the hosts, it was another reverse that left the side dejected, with little sense that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
The Lions started the season with an unexpected 2-1 defeat at Sivasspor and are now in 17th spot in the 18-team division. At the moment, only Manisaspor is off to a worst start thanks to their inferior goal difference.
Galatasaray also played out two draws in the Europa League preliminary rounds, meaning its 5-1 win against OFK Beograd stands as its only win of the season so far.
The side also began the 1989-90 campaign with two defeats.
Despite the loss, coach Frank Rijkaard praised his team’s effort.
“Bursaspor had the advantage of scoring the first goal. That caused us some trouble and helped them continue their usual style of play,” said the Dutchman after the game.
“Even when we were down by a goal, the team fought very well to make the score 1-1. But we could not. We lost but we were the better side for most parts of the game. We had 18 corner kicks and played on their part of the pitch, but still failed to score. If you can’t score, you get nothing in the end.”
Rijkaard added that now was the time to work harder.
“It is really hard for us but we must now work harder and win the Europa League playoff return game [at Karpaty Lviv of Ukraine].”
Galatasaray has been criticized for having little depth in its squad. Earlier this summer, Chairman Adnan Polat announced that the team would sign five foreign players, but could only lure Lorik Cana and Juan Pablo Pino, who have both failed to start a league match.
Rijkaard said the team was still working on a few transfer deals.
“We are talking about it every day, but we still haven’t found the right player. You can sign any player but we don’t want to do it just for the sake of it. We need to make the right decision at the right time,” he said.
The win was Bursaspor’s first victory at Ali Sami Yen Stadium in 18 years. Coach Ertuğrul Sağlam said the win was important, especially as it came two weeks after a disappointing 3-0 loss against Trabzonspor in the Turkish Super Cup.
“Before the game, I wrote down 20 reasons why we should beat Galatasaray,” said Sağlam after the game. “The defeat to Trabzonspor made people have more negative perceptions about us. But with two wins in a row, we made people learn about the Bursa phenomenon.”
Also on Sunday, Ankaragücü beat Manisaspor 3-0, while the Gençlerbirliği-Gaziantepspor match ended 0-0 in a stalemate.
On Saturday, Beşiktaş lost 2-0 to Istanbul Municipality in arguably the biggest upset of the season so far.
The Black Eagles, who boast a star-studded lineup including Ricardo Quaresma and Guti, gave away too many chances against the minnow Istanbul side, losing by two goals from İskender Alın and former Beşiktaş player İbrahim Akın.
According to the Turkish media, Beşiktaş is expected to announce the signing of Brazilian star Robinho on Tuesday. The forward fell out of favor in Manchester City, and the Black Eagles have been striving to sign him since Brazil was knocked out of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Several media reports suggested that Argentine midfielder Matias Emilio Delgado’s contract was canceled to make space for Robinho in the squad.
The current regulations of the Super League allow each team to have 10 non-Turkish nationality players, with a maximum of six to be on the pitch and an additional two on the bench.
