The Lions managed to come back from behind and pickup the three points in their season opener.
Reigning champions Galatasaray defeated newcomers Ankaragucu 3-1 in the opening fixture of the 2018/2019 Super Lig in Ankara’s Osmanli Stadium on Friday evening.
Galatasaray boss Fatih Terim made some changes after his team’s defeat to Akhisarspor in the Turkish Super Cup clash last week. He benched Bafetimbi Gomis, Sofiane Feghouli and Younes Belhanda and started new transfer Henry Onyekuru on the right wing and Eren Derdiyok as striker.
Newly promoted Ankaragucu scored the season’s first goal early as Mostapha El Kabir found the back of the net in the 7th minute thanks to a through pass that left him one-on-one with goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.
Galatasaray increased the pressure on Ankaragucu after going down 0-1.
They didn’t have to wait long as The Lions found the equalizing goal in the 21st minute. Defender Serdar Aziz scored a header from close range after Ankaragucu failed to clear a cross into the penalty box.
Taking their chances in front of Ankaragucu’s goal, Galatasaray took the lead in the 30th minute thanks to an own goal by Ankaragucu’s new transfer Bakary Kone.
Kone headed past his own goalkeeper into the top right corner, while trying to clear Mariano’s curved cross.
Ankaragucu scored before the end of the first half again with Mostapha El Kabir in the 37th minute, but it was disallowed after he was deemed offside. The referee used the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system to cancel the goal.
The second half started with Ankaragucu trying to find the equalizing goal. The Ankara team found a chance in the 54th minute, but Muslera was quick to clear the ball before Thievy Bifouma could pounce.
In the 63rd minute, Ankaragucu again found a clear chance inside the six yard box, but the shot narrowly missed the target.
In stoppage time, Galatasaray found the back of the net via striker Eren Derdiyok, who made it 3-1.
Despite their fans’ constant support throughout the 90 minutes, Ankaragucu were not able to find the equalizer to earn a point in their first Super Lig match in six years.
