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Super Lig Weekly: Samsunspor smash Galatasaray to delay title party, Trabzonspor fizzle out

Galatasaray headed into their trip to Samsunspor on Saturday evening knowing that a win would see them be crowned champions for a record-equalling fourth time in a row.

However, it did feel like there was a sense of arrogance in the air. Fans were already celebrating, certain that they would get the win. Even the players had been in a 'job is done' mood since beating Fenerbahce.

But Samsunspor are a good team, and going to their place isn't easy, especially as they were desperate to be the team that didn't let Galatasaray win the title on their turf.

Gala started the game well and took the lead courtesy of Yunus Akgun, whose cross remarkably ended up lobbing the goalkeeper.

But their joy was short-lived when Marius drove into the oceans of space the Gala defenders gave him, slotting past Gunay Guvenc in goal, who was filling in for the suspended Ugurcan Cakir.

Gala were absolutely turgid, and although their football is often not always the most cohesive, relying heavily on individual talent, this was truly dire.

Davinson Sanchez was having a nightmare at the back, while Victor Osimhen was delivering one of his worst performances in a Gala shirt.  

Samsun took the lead 15 minutes into the second half, as they capitalised on some more poor Gala defending for Cherif Ndiaye to finish with aplomb.

The misery continued for the away side, with a loose Osimhen pass selling Gunay short, and the goalkeeper was sent off for handball outside the penalty area.

Gunay has recently been used as a scapegoat by fans. Although he doesn't instil as much confidence in his defence, and Ugurcan is significantly better than him, he has been unfairly criticised in his last two games. It feels like he has become an easy target despite not doing too much obviously wrong.

The game was pretty much over from then, with Samsun grabbing two more goals before the end of the game to win 4-1, as both Marius and Ndiaye bagged braces.

Samsun have now won four games in a row, and head coach Thorsten Fink, who took over from the impressive Thomas Reis in February, is doing a very good job. They deserve tonnes of credit for the intensity and level they showed at this stage of the season.

For Galatasaray, it was a dismal result and performance, but barring a seismic and hugely unlikely collapse, they will likely become champions in front of their fans against Antalyaspor next week.

But the performance and complacency were alarming. A lot of fans haven't been behind manager Okan Buruk for a while, and this was just more fuel to the fire.

From the outside looking in, it must be bizarre. They are on the cusp of a fourth title in four years under the Turk, and reached the last 16 of the Champions League, beating Juventus and Liverpool en route.

However, the style of play has been unappealing, especially away from home, and for a team that wins the league so often, fans want more now.

Okan is a fantastic man manager, but he isn't the world's best coach. Miles from it. He relies heavily on individual talent and letting the players go out and do their thing. Usually, that works considering the calibre of footballer he has at his disposal.

But at times, it doesn't, and consequently, they are really painful to watch. This season has been the case more than ever, as they have found it hard to juggle European football with the Super Lig.

Perhaps fans are entitled, and they should be careful what they wish for. Regardless, he isn't going anywhere, and they are set to be champions very soon.

They need to have a busy summer, though. A lot of players who were key in their previous title wins, like Sanchez, Lucas Torreira and Mario Lemina, are on the decline. They need to refresh the squad and bring in new faces because there are clear signs of things going stale.

Younger bodies are needed to rejuvenate the team, and they will have already started planning for that.

Talisca shines for Fenerbahce as Trabzonspor fizzle out

Coming off the back of a 3-0 defeat at rivals Galatasaray that all but ended their title hopes, the vibes at managerless Fenerbahce have been pretty awful.

Domenico Tedesco was fired as coach, and there is significant uncertainty about who will take over the helm and who will be their new Sporting Director and President in the coming months.

But the focus needed to turn back to the league and securing second place, which would see them enter the Champions League qualifiers for next season.

Anderson Talisca took centre stage for Fener. After missing a really pivotal penalty against Galatasaray, which changed the momentum of the game, he rebounded on Saturday with a clinical hat-trick, guiding Fener to a 3-1 victory over Istanbul Basaksehir.

The Brazilian has had a good season on a personal level, scoring 19 goals in the Super Lig while filling in up front for large portions of it. Only Paul Onuachu (22) and Eldor Shomurodov (20) have scored more.

The result saw them basically wrap up second, because Trabzonspor could only draw 1-1 at Goztepe at the same time.

Goztepe took the lead in the first half after Juan Santos swept home for the away side, before Mustafa Eskihellac was sent off for Trabzon just before the break.

Goztepe looked on course for all three points, but Umut Nayir finished acrobatically to snatch a point in added time.

In totality, it wasn't a good result for Trabzon, and they've really faded away at the business end of the season. At one point, after beating Galatasaray, they looked like legit title contenders.

However, since then, they haven't won any of their four games, drawing three times and losing once. With Fener also dropping points, they had a massive opportunity to finish second but have now thrown that away.

At the start of the season, Trabzon fans would have been very happy with their team's achievements and progress. They still have a good chance of winning the Turkish Cup, too. But it does feel like Champions League qualification has slipped from their grasp.

Team of the Week

Talisca is the Flashscore Player of the Week, according to our very own internal ratings system, after his hat-trick against Basaksehir.

He is joined by teammate and former Manchester United midfielder Fred, while Samsun trio Marius, Ndiaye and Yalcin Kayan also make the XI.

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