Turkish Süper Lig heavyweights Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Beşiktaş took the European stage on Thursday, delivering a trio of contrasting outcomes – a win, a draw and a loss – rounding out a combined bag of outcomes.
The Yellow Canaries introduced again pleasure with their resilience of their UEFA Europa League, overturning an early deficit to triumph 2-1 in opposition to Slavia Prague.
The win elevated their factors tally to eight, conserving them firmly in competition for the knockout rounds.
Slavia Prague struck early, with striker Tomas Chory capitalizing on defensive lapses to fireside the hosts forward within the seventh minute.
But Jose Mourinho’s males responded with poise.
Edin Dzeko, the Bosnian talisman, leveled the rating within the thirty fifth minute, latching onto Sebastian Szymanski’s incisive move earlier than rifling a robust shot previous the goalkeeper.
This marked Dzeko’s first Europa League purpose this season, including to his tally of 12 throughout all competitions.
En-Nesyri’s sealer
Substitute Youssef En-Nesyri proved decisive, getting into the fray within the 78th minute and delivering the successful purpose simply seven minutes later.
The Moroccan striker deftly transformed Dusan Tadic’s pinpoint move, slotting the ball dwelling from shut vary to safe all three factors for the guests.
En-Nesyri’s purpose prolonged his streak to a few consecutive Europa League matches with a purpose, cementing his position as a key determine in Fenerbahçe’s European marketing campaign.
However, the win didn’t come without charge as Brazilian midfielder Fred is ready to overlook Fenerbahçe’s essential match in opposition to Athletic Bilbao after accumulating yellow playing cards.
Fred’s newest warning got here following a heated change involving Dzeko and referee Sascha Stegemann, the place Fred’s try and mediate noticed him penalized for making contact with the official.
Despite the victory, Fenerbahçe’s defensive frailties stay obvious.
They have conceded in all 9 European matches this season, tallying 14 objectives in opposition to whereas scoring 15. From their Champions League qualifiers in opposition to Lugano to their Europa League fixtures, the Istanbul giants are but to maintain a clear sheet.
The overcome Slavia marked Fenerbahçe’s first away victory on this yr’s Europa League.
After attracts in opposition to Twente and Manchester United and a loss to AZ Alkmaar, the crew lastly broke their touring curse, a promising signal as they put together for the vital Bilbao tie.
Galatasaray’s unbeaten run
Meanwhile, rivals Galatasaray maintained their unbeaten Europa League marketing campaign with a gritty 1-1 draw in opposition to AZ Alkmaar.
Victor Osimhen’s equalizer within the forty third minute ensured the Turkish champions remained high of their group with 11 factors from 5 matches.
The end result prolonged Galatasaray’s unbeaten streak to fifteen matches in all competitions.
Since their slim defeat to Young Boys within the Champions League playoffs, the Lions have been a pressure to reckon with, successful 12 of their final 15 outings.
Despite the draw, AZ Alkmaar preserved their unbeaten document in opposition to Turkish sides, a streak now spanning eight matches.
The Dutch aspect beforehand defeated Başakşehir, Fenerbahçe, and Kayserispor and now maintain Galatasaray to their record of vanquished foes.
Beşiktaş falter once more
In a politically charged match in Hungary, Beşiktaş suffered a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Maccabi Tel Aviv, leaving their Europa League hopes hanging by a thread.
Despite Rafa Silva’s opening purpose, the Black Eagles couldn’t recuperate from defensive errors and Immobile’s missed penalty.
Beşiktaş at present sit in twenty second place with six factors, conserving their slim playoff hopes alive.
Gabriel Paulista’s season went from dangerous to worse because the defender limped off within the fifteenth minute after a collision, additional compounding Beşiktaş’s defensive struggles.
Fenerbahçe host Athletic Bilbao in a do-or-die conflict on matchday six, whereas Galatasaray face Malmo with group management on the road.
Beşiktaş should win in opposition to Bodo/Glimt opponent to maintain their slim qualification hopes alive.
Source: www.dailysabah.com