The Lions get their revenge on Orduspor

Yesterday Galatasaray beat Ordu side Orduspor at the Türk Telekom Arena in week twenty three of the Süper Lig, Galatasaray again extended their lead and remain top beating the visitors 4-2.

Last time both sides met Orduspor beat Galatasaray two nil at the 19 Eylül Stadium back in September last year. In the first half it looked like the visitors were going to repeat the same result with a bizarre own goal from Selçuk. Muslera's goal kick rebounded off  Selçuk's boot and went in to make it one nil to the visitors.

Things went from bad to worse for the home side, on the stroke of half time the Ordu Province side were awarded a penalty, Balta was booked for handball, the likes of Hamit, Sneijder, Zan, and Balta himself protested to the referee that he had got the decision wrong, however referee Serkan Cinar stood with his decision. Romanian forward Bogdan Stancu took the penalty to give the visitors the lead.

Terim as expected was furious and was sent to watch the rest of the game in the stands, later assistant manager Hasan Şaş was also sent to the stands for arguing.

The Lions started to up their game in the second half, in the fifty eighth minute of the game Dutch international Wesley Sneijder scored his first goal for the club in style, Sneijder played a nice pass and move combo with team mates Amrabat and Hakan Balta and struck the ball venomously from about twenty yards out and beat Orduspor keeper Saso Fornezzi.

Ten minutes later Galatasaray equalised, Burak Yılmaz scoring from close range, two minutes later Burak got his second goal of the game; Drogba crossed the ball to Burak who then powerfully headed the ball passed Fornezzi to make it 3-2 to the Lions. Both Terim and Şaş were seen jumping up and down with delight and were relieved with their team's second half performance.

One interesting stat that was revealed from last night via Turkish football website Turkishfootball.com (@Turkish_Futbol) was that Burak has now scored sixty two times in his last seventy one appearances in the famous parçalı colours. The former Trabzonspor player is both top scorer in the Süper Lig with fourteen goals and is joint top in the Champions League with Cristiano Ronaldo.

With twelve minutes to go Selçuk got his fourth goal of the season, the Turkish international struck from outside of the area to make it 4-2 to the Lions. The Lions finally got their revenge on the Black sea side after experiencing a disastrous first half.

Near the end of the game both Drogba and David Barral clashed in the air whilst going for a header, Drogba recovered quite quickly from the clash, however Barral had to be hospitalised. After the game Drogba went to see the Spaniard who is now recovering (pictured below).

Terim can be pleased with his side's second half performance, showing their sheer strength and determination to fight back and win the game. Galatasaray are six points clear at the top of the Süper Lig and on Saturday travel to Eskişehir and face sixth placed Eskişehirspor at the Eskişehir Atatürk Stadium. 

      

Left:Drogba visiting David Barral in hospital 


GALATASARAY: Muslera, Eboue (Sabri 68 mins), Gökhan Zan, Dany, Hakan, Hamit (Umut 67 mins), Selçuk, Amrabat, Sneijder, Drogba, Burak

The Lions' first Champions League game of the year ends in a draw

Last night Galatasaray played their first Champions League match in 2013 against Bundesliga side Schalke 04 which ended 1-1 at the Türk Telekom Arena.

The home side went ahead in the twelfth minute, Selçuk played a through ball to Burak Yılmaz who then skillfully beat the Schalke defense and struck the ball past Schalke keeper Timo Hildebrand. Burak has now scored seven goals in the competition and is level with Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo who also tops the goal scoring table in this season's competition.

Hamit could have made it two nil to the Lions, however his effort hit the woodwork, one interesting stat from last night that was revealed is that Galatasaray has hit the bar more times than any other team in the tournament (on seven ocassions). 

The Istanbul side had a few more decent chances, however, the midfield was exploited by the German side, which left Schalke to dominate on both flanks on the pitch with the likes of Brazilian winger Michel Bastos causing the Lions all sorts of problems. 

Die Königsblauen (The Royal Blues) scored on the stroke of half time, Dany's miscontrol of the ball lead Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to pass the ball to Jefferson Farfán who was free to run past Reira and Semih who then set up Jermaine Jones who slotted the ball past Muslera to make it 1-1.

In the second half Terim made some changes, new signing Wesley Sneijder was replaced with Nordin Amrabat as well as Eboué coming on for Altıntop. However, these changes didn't really improve the Lion's second half performance.

The Gelsenkirchen side dominated on the wings and in the centre of the park which again caused problems for the home side, Galatasaray were very lucky to escape with a draw. One thing that was on every fan's lips after the game was how can Terim incorporate the new signings into the starting eleven. Maybe Terim will adopt some kind of rotational system, time will only tell and the up and coming Süper Lig games will be one way of testing the water.

Both sides meet again next month at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen; it will be interesting to see if Schalke can play well again as they have shown great form in the competition, however they have been poor domestically in recent weeks having lost to bottom side Greuther Fürth and also being thumped four nil against Bavarian giants Bayern Munich.

The Lions seem to play better away in the competition, having previously beating CFR Cluj and Braga in the previous round of the Champions League. Hopefully this will be the case when the Istanbul club travel to Germany next month.

GALATASARAY: Muslera, Sabri (Bulut 84 mins), Semih, Dany, Riera, Hamit  (Eboue 66 mins), Selçuk, Melo, Sneijder (Amrabat 46 mins), Burak, Drogba     

Drogba the super sub!

Yesterday Galatasaray played bottom side Akhisar Belediyespor at the Manisa 19 Mayis Stadium and extended their lead to the top of the Süper Lig by winning 2-1.

The Lions were still missing Felipe Melo who has been banned for four matches due to allegedly spitting at Beşiktaş player Oğuzhan Özyakup during the Istanbul derby last month. Sabri again started in Eboué's usual position at right back, the Ivorian featured on the bench with Les Éléphants team mate and new signing Didier Drogba.

In the first half the away side dominated and had over seventy percent of possession, however, having Sneijder on the left hand side didn't seem to work even with his decent attempts on goal. In addition, having Melo out is a major blow for the Lions, at times Yekta seemed to be out of position and lacked that much needed attacking flair. In the Lions midfield, the partnership between both Melo and Selçuk seems to work the best, the Brazilian misses another two matches and should return against Ankara side Gençlerbirliği next month.

The Istanbul side should have been in front in the first half, Umut Bulut in my opinion didn't have his best game and Terim made the right decision to take him off in the second half.

Every Galatasaray fan was anticipating Drogba's debut in the second half, the former Chelsea player came on in the sixty third minute of the game and replaced Umut Bulut. Drogba made no mistake of showing that first impressions matter, and scored within five minutes of being on the pitch. Burak crossed in from the right and Drogba climbed high to beat Akhisar defender Emrah Eren and scored a powerful header to make it one nil to the visitors.

Since replacing Bulut in the sixty third minute, the Ivorian made an instant impact and gelled well with Burak straight away, also Sneijder played slightly better. The pair look very dangerous and definitely look like they will cause problems on Wednesday when Galatasaray play Schalke 04 in the Champions League.

The Lions went ahead again three minutes later, Drogba played a one two with Wesley Sneijder and then made a run before Akhisar keeper Oğuz Dağlaroğlu came out to prevent the Ivorian from scoring. However, the ball was fumbled and Burak was at the right place and right time to tap the ball into the back of the net to make it two nil.

The Akigo as Akhisar are known to their fans scored in the eighty fifth minute, Sertan Vardar scoring from a diving header from close range. The goal could have been avoided as Vardar had been poorly marked by the Lions' defense.

However, even getting a goal back with five minutes to go, the visitors struggled to break through Galatasaray's defense in the few minutes left of the game.

Galatasaray remain top of the Turkish Süper Lig on forty three point and are eight points clear, city rivals Beşiktaş remain second. Akhisar remain bottom of the league with nineteen points.

As previously mentioned, Galatasaray will play Bundesliga side Schalke 04 at the Türk Telekom Arena on Wednesday evening. In week 23 of the Süper Lig, the Lions face Orduspor at home, Galatasaray will be seeking revenge against the Ordu club having lost two nil in their previous meeting back in late September.

GALATASARAY: Muslera, Sabri, Semih, Dany, Riera, Selçuk, Yekta (Amrabat 63 mins), Hamit, Sneijder (Eboué 79 mins), Umut (Drogba 63 mins), Burak     

Today in 1911 the Lions put seven past the Canaries

On the 12th of February 1911 the Istanbul derby between Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe was played at the Union Club Field (today known as the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium). This match has a historic signifance, not because of the one sided scoreline but because Galatasaray only had seven players on the pitch.

On this historic day which is remembered by both sets of supporters, six Galatasaray players crossed the Bosphorus (also known as the Istanbul Strait), the other memebers of the Parçalı side missed their ferry trip to the other side of the city due to a bad storm. Emin Bülent Serdaroğlu (one of the club's founders and also a Turkish poet) joined his team mates to make it seven in the early minutes of the first half.

Four of the goals came from Celal Ibrahim (a Kurdish player and another founder of the club), Ibrahim put the European side of Istanbul in front in the ninth minute and got his second ten mintues before the end of the first half; he scored twice again in the second half. Emin Bülent Serdaroğlu scored two on this historic day for the Lions, İdris made it seven in the eighty seventh minute.

Both İdris and Celal Ibrahim later tragically lost their lives, İdris died fighting in the Italo-Turkish war eight months after the Istanbul derby. Celal Ibrahim died on the 21st of March in the defense of Baghdad.

All seven are remembered for their sheer determination dispite only fielding seven men which included Galatasaray founding father Ali Sami Yen who featured in goal. In 1905 (the year the club was founded) Ali Sami Yen famously stated that the aim of creating a team was "To play together like Englishmen, to have a colour and a name, and to beat the other non Turkish teams”

He took the famous Parçalı colours from having an image of bright yellow and red fire which would carry his team from one victory to another from adopting fire like colours.

1911 GALATASARAY: Yen, Armitage, Tamay, Bircan, Ibrahim, İdris, Serdaroğlu

The return of the Burak!

Yesterday Galatasaray played Medical Park Antalyaspor at the Türk Telekom Arena and beat the Scorpions two nil. 

New signing Wesley Sneijder featured in the starting eleven having previously been on the bench for the past two consecutive matches. Fan favourite Burak Yılmaz also started having been left out of the squad in the previous two matches. 

The Lions went ahead early in the eighth minute, Hamit Altıntop's freekick reached Semih who quickly slotted the ball to Burak Yılmaz who then tapped the ball past Antalyaspor keeper Hakan Arıkan to give the home side the lead.

The Istanbul side dominated the first half having over sixty percent of possession, in the second half it was pretty much same. Burak got his second in the sixty second minute, Amrabat made a through ball to Burak who then struck the ball venomously past Hakan Arıkan. 

Terim obviously rested Burak for a reason and it definitely showed in yesterday's match, the win at home showed Galatasaray newcomer Didier Drogba what to expect from his new team mates and in particular Burak Yılmaz who he will be playing alongside. 

Antalyaspor drop to fourth place in the Süper Lig, Instanbul rivals Beşiktaş leap frog the Scorpions into second place after beating Elazığspor 3-1. Bitter rivals Fenerbahçe are third after beating Mersin İdman Yurdu one nil at the Tevfik Sırrı Gür Stadium.

Galatasaray sustain their lead at the top of the Süper Lig on forty points and five points ahead of second placed Beşiktaş. The Lions travel to the western city of Akhisar on the 15th and face bottom side Akhisar Belediyespor. 

GALATASARAY: Muslera, Sabri, Semih, Dany, Riera, Hamit, (Engin Baytar 86 mins), Selçuk, Yekta, Amrabat, (Umut 80 mins), Sneijder (Emre Çolak 81 mins), Burak              

The Drog has landed

Yesterday afternoon around 15.30 British time, Didier Drogba landed on Turkish soil after representing his native Ivory Coast in South Africa at the African Cup of Nations.

Just like when Wesley Sneijder landed at Istanbul's Atatürk airport, thousands of parçalı fans flocked to see their new signing; Drogba has signed a deal with the current Süper Lig champions for one and a half years.

On Galatasaray's Facebook page it stated that Drogba mentioned that "I am very happy to be here. This is a new adventure. Now I will give everything for the success of the club and meet fans." 

Drogba will be unveiled to the fans tomorrow at the Türk Telekom Arena, the Lions face Medical Park Antalyaspor in an evening kick off. 

It has been reported that the former Marseille, Chelsea, and Shanghai Shenhua player will be paid ten million euros during his year and a half stay in Turkey as well as receiving a fifteen thousand euro bonus for each match the Ivorian features in. 

Drogba will once again be playing Champions League football with his new club, as the Lions face Bundesliga side Schalke this month.      

The Lions' and Green Crocodiles' hunt for three points ends in a stalemate

In week twenty of the Süper Lig, the Lions drew 1-1 against Bursa side Bursaspor at the Bursa Atatürk Stadium.

Sebastián Pinto put the Yeşil Timsahlar (Green Crocodiles) ahead in the eighteenth minute, Bursaspor defender Şener Özbayraklı crossing in from the right hand side finding Pinto in space to nod the ball passed Fernando Muslera. 

The Lions also had some chances, Elmander should have scored from making a breaking run into the Green Crocodiles' defence and hitting the ball completely off target. 

Galatasaray finally scored in the thirtieth minute of the first half, Selçuk İnan launched a long ball from the half way line to Umut Bulut who then slotted the ball past English keeper Scott Carson to make it 1-1. 

In the second half the Green Crocodiles were constantly on the attack, luckily for Galatasaray Muslera made some crucial saves; one save that particularly stands out was Fernando Belluschi's long range effort that he acrobatically pushed away for a corner.

The Lions had an opportunity to go ahead when Amrabat swung in a cross from the left hand side, however, Aydın Yılmaz some how ended up blasting the ball off target. 

The Istanbul club's last chance to go ahead was from Reira's corner that almost looked like it was going in after Carson failed to get a hand to it, the ball ended up going inches wide of the goal.

Many fans were scratching their heads at why Burak Yılmaz was not selected in the side, as he has been an essential player not only in the Süper Lig but also in the Champions League so far this season.

Since the Ivory Coast are now out the African Cup of Nations after losing to Nigeria 2-1, Drogba will be making his way to Istanbul to join his new teammates. With the introduction of Galatasaray's second January signing, Terim can adopt a 4-3-1-2 formation and include Sneijder, Drogba, and of course Burak Yılmaz into the starting eleven. This should be interesting to see if he adopts this strategy next Sunday when Galatasaray face second placed Medical Park Antalyaspor at the Türk Telekom Arena. 

The Lions remain top of the Süper Lig on thirty seven points, Medical Park Antalyaspor are on thirty four points and move into second place after beating İstanbul BB one nil at home.   

GALATASARAY: Muslera, Sabri, Semih, Dany, Riera, Selçuk, Engin (Sneijder 70 mins), Yekta (A.Yılmaz 58 mins), Emre, Elmander (Amrabat 58 mins).