Galatasaray were able to beat Trabzonspor in a crucial league match during the weekend. The 3-1 success for Fatih Terim’s team has been able to get Galatasaray into a great spot with regards to winning the league title. The lead at the top of the table has been reduced to just six points as a result of this victory. The match witnessed MbayeDiagne making his first appearance for Galatasaray since the January move and it did not take long for the player to make a major impact. He is the division’s top scorer to his tally of 21 goals and his penalty in the 21st minute was able to provide a Galatasaray with the lead.

Even though Trabzonspor were able to quickly equalise just nine minutes later, this was the only goal from the visitors. Hugo Rodallega was responsible for handing Trabzonspor with this crucial goal which only turned out to be a consolation at the end of the match. Galatasaray had an excellent start to the game and they responded well after the goal. Younes Belhanda was able to break the deadlock just before half-time and it was plain sailing for Galatasaray from then on. Galatasaray were able to dominate the encounter on a number of aspects and a two-goal lead was provided to the match when Belhanda converted in the 51st minute.

Turkish Cup quarterfinals and semi finals drawceremony was held in Istanbul on Wednesday, the draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the 2018/2019 Turkish Cup at the football organization’s facilities in Riva, Istanbul.

Galatasaray,who eliminatedBoluspor on a 5-1 aggregate where drawn against TFF first league side Hatayspor who defeated Turkish super league leaders Instabul Bashaiker in the round of sixteen stage. Trabzonspor were pitched against Umraniyespor. Trabzonspor eliminated Balikesirspor on a 5-2 aggregate (3-1, 2-1), while Umraniyespor eliminated Fenerbahce on a 2-0 aggregate (1-0, 1-0).

Galatasaray are reportedly working hard on bringing Fernando Llorente to Turkish football in the January transfer window. The Galatasaray manager Fatih Terim is very keen on working with the Spanish striker, who has struggled to get gametime at the English club this season.Llorente is a physical centre forward who can bring others into play rather easily. He is also reportedly quite unhappy with life at Tottenham after not featuring in any Premier league game from the start to season. Even though Spurs have been hit by issues of tiredness this season, manager Mauricio Pochettino has passed the opportunity of usingLlorente from the start in a league match.

The number nine is unhappy with his life on the bench and a move to Turkish football, where he will get regular first-team football, will come as an interesting choice.It is also reported that Galatasaray are also keeping tabs on the situation of Andy Carroll at West Ham. The form of players like Felipe Anderson and Marko Arnautovic has made it difficult forCarroll to get a place back in the West Ham team after returning from a long-term injury. He may be sent out on a short-term loan in order to rediscover his confidence. Other players who are also in the consideration happen to be Hoffenheim forward Adam Szalai.

After finishing third in Group D behind FC Porto and FC Schalke, Galatasaray’s time in the 2018/19 Champions League came to an end. The club did well in getting that far, and while a relatively mediocre group gave some hope that a round of 16 berth was possible, there should be no disappointment.


Even without Galatasaray’s direct involvement though, the remainder of the Champions League should be a lot of fun to keep tabs on, so consider this a brief primer for the rest of the competition, with a bit of Turkish perspective.

Turkish champions Galatasaray are reportedly looking into a temporary move for Liverpool’s Divock Origi when the transfer window reopens at the turn of the year. The Belgium international has endured a tough campaign with the Reds where he has managed just 11 minutes of competitive action and this has spread regular speculation regarding his future.

The likes of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton have already been credited with an interest in the former Lille graduate but according to ESPN, Gala could lodge an offer of their own for the marksman. However, the reigning Super Lig champions are only keen on recruiting Origi on an initial loan, given they are having concerns with the Financial Fair Play.

There seems to have been quite a bit of confusion over the situation of the Bayern Munich forward Sandro Wagner, with some of the latest reports published in the Turkish media announcing that Wagner is all set to join the Turkish top tier side Galatasaray, and help out alongside Henry Onyekuru.

It’s been reported that Bayern Munich wants to give a slightly new look to their squad by offloading some of their ageing players and bringing in youngsters to take their place – and Wagner is one of those who will be shown the exit door.

Fenerbahce president Ali Koc has urged Andre Ayew to take on the scoring mantle when the club take on cross-town rivals Galatasaray this weekend. Fener have gone through a turbulent period with just two wins from their opening 10 matches and the run sees them already 12 points behind league leaders Istanbul Basaksehir.

As such, Phillip Cocu’s men do not have room for further disappointments in the league and Koc believes Ayew’s performance could be crucial to overturning the club’s recent fortunes, he told Sporx: “You’re one of the stars of this team. And ahead of the Galatasaray match, it is coming as one of the crunch games and a big match for him [Andre Ayew]. Now it is time for him to show himself with more fight, take more responsibilities and this team needs him in this crucial match.”

Galatasaray managerFatih Terim has opened up on his decision with regard to the players whose contracts are expiring towards the end of the summer. Galatasaray have a number of players who will be out of contract in the summer of 2019. They include Sinan Silver, Martin Linnes,SelcukInan, Ryan Donk,ErenDerdiyok, Tarik Camdal, andMughdat Steel. However, the club have been going through a transitional period in the last few years that they are just delighted to be back at the top of the Turkish super league.

As a result of the strong position enjoyed by Galatasaray in the 2018-19 campaign, the manager claims that the club will be taking a decision on the future of the players, whose contracts are about to expire, only in the summer. This will leave them second-guessing about the future in Turkish football, but there is already a decent amount of interesting those players. However, their chances of remaining at Galatasaray depend heavily on their performances from now till the end of the campaign. Galatasaray have so far been decent at the start of the campaign, but there are signs of trouble with the team losing two out of the last three games. After going without a defeat in the first five games, these are major setbacks for the team.

Ghana international Andre Ayew has admitted that he is disappointed after witnessing Bafetimbi Gomis make the switch to Saudi Arabia from Galatasaray. The Frenchman had been hugely popular with the Istanbul outfit after helping them secure the title last season but he nevertheless took the opportunity to head to the Middle East with Al Hilal before the Turkish transfer deadline.

Speaking regarding the same, Ayew said that he was not pleased with the decision made by close friend Gomis and he had hoped to face him during the cross-town derby between Fenerbahce and Galatasaray, he quipped: “I respect him very much and he respects me. I talked with him about the transfer. Gomis loved Galatasaray and he was very popular here. He had to leave and so he left. I wanted to play in a derby against him.”

Everton striker Henry Onyekuru has dismissed the ongoing speculation which has associated him with a move to Valencia. The Nigeria international joined Galatasaray on a season-long loan this summer after failing to earn a UK work permit but he has nevertheless been linked with a possible move to Valencia.

Recent reports have highlighted that Valencia could be prepared to pay Everton to terminate the loan contract to sign Onyekuru on a permanent basis but the striker has now rebuffed the possibility of this happening, he told Fotomac: “It is true that Valencia is interested in me. I liked this fact, but now I am a player of Galatasaray and I do not think this deal can take place.”