The two Istanbul clubs clashed in a heated Super Lig encounter that produced 4 goals and 3 red cards on Friday evening.
Another Istanbul derby contested between arch-rivals Galatasaray and Fenerbahce took place on Friday and it did not disappoint.
Galatasaray welcomed their city rivals at their home ground, Turk Telekom Stadium, to a hostile reception and before the game had even started there were already scenes of fighting amongst the players.
During the warm-up period, there was a scuffle between Fener’s Andre Ayew and Galatasaray’s Ryan Donk which was a sign of what was to come during the 90 minutes.
This was the 388th time the two teams lined up against each other.
Galatasaray dominated the first half with constant attacks and their relentless waves of pressure paid off when Ryan Donk scored the first goal of the game in the 31st minute after the ball landed in front of him from a corner.
The second half started off in the same manner with Galatasaray pressing hard against a compact Fenerbahce side.
It didn’t take long for The Lions to score another goal. Full-back Martin Linnes struck a wonderful, low curved shot that curled into the bottom right corner of Fener’s net at the 49th minute mark, making the score 2-0.
Koeman’s men didn’t give up though and began to open up and get more creative since they had nothing else to lose at this point.
Their first goal came in the 61st minute via a Mathieu Valbuena penalty after Galatasaray goalkeeper Muslera went in with a reckless challenge against an opposition player in the penalty box.
By this point, Fenerbahce’s players were gaining momentum and confidence while Galatasaray kept playing closer to their goal unlike the first half.
Brazilian midfielder Jailson was Fener’s hero of the night as he struck a well-placed shot from outside the penalty box and into the top corner to draw level and make it 2-2 in the 72nd minute.
Fenerbahce didn’t stop there, however. They kept pushing and were unlucky to not have found the third goal to snatch the three points as Fatih Terim’s men tactically collapsed near the end of the 90 minutes.
However, an Istanbul derby between the two sides wouldn’t be complete without some drama.
After the final whistle, a fight broke out between Fenerbahce’s Roberto Soldado and Galatasaray’s Younes Belhanda as both players head-butted and pushed each other before players and staff of both clubs ran onto the pitch, which made matters worse.
Players of both clubs started to fight each other after the 90 min.
Kicks and punches were thrown which led to the referee issuing a red card to Fenerbahce’s Soldado, Jailson and Galatasaray’s Badu Ndiaye for their involvement in the fight while Belhanda received a yellow card.
Further punishment is expected in the coming days once officials from the Turkish Football Federation review the footage.
Click here to watch highlights of the derby.
