Flash comment for Galatasaray - Fenerbahçe derby! "Jose Mourinho's movie"

The closing of the 25th week of the Trendyol Super League , which witnessed a storm of excitement, was at Rams Park. Galatasaray , who won the first match in Kadıköy, hosted Fenerbahçe at home. The derby, in which Cimbom almost finished the job and Canarya could close the gap and take the psychological advantage, was very sterile and ended 0-0 as it started.

After the draw in the match, the 6 point difference at the top was maintained. The competition will continue in the same way in the remaining 12 weeks. Sports writers also made important comments about the derby that the world's eyes turned to.

ONUR OZKAN: EL CLASICO

IN FACT, it was literally El Clasico for us… We left the Galatasaray - Fenerbahçe derby, which had great expectations and was awaited with great excitement, saying, "What did we just watch?" It was a 90-minute period in which fears, concerns, possible discussions replaced tactics and technique.

Let's face it, Galatasaray got caught in the derby at a very bad time. 80 percent of the team is in bad form, has a bad rhythm and has physical problems. Okan Buruk probably thought, "If I take risks, I will lose" and maybe Galatasaray showed a pragmatic approach for the first time in its career. However, the point he missed was this. Galatasaray has no practice regarding this game. It was not possible for the players who have been coded to play up front for 2.5 years to suddenly get used to controlled football. The result was zero goal opportunities and 1 shot on target.

However, Mourinho didn't even think of taking risks after the 80th minute, let alone at the beginning of the match. He probably also trusts Galatasaray 's declining form and difficult fixtures. As a result, the leader Galatasaray came out of the derby with a 6 point lead, with a 7 point lead, including the two-way average.

Did Fenerbahçe lose 2 points or did they hold on to the race and do the right thing? We will see the results of this in May.

"Once again, we left a derby that had great expectations and was awaited with great excitement, saying, 'What did we watch now?'"

EVREN TURHAN: GALATASARAY GOT WHAT IT WANTED

All eyes were on the derby. Galatasaray wanted to use their 6 point advantage. With a draw, the Yellow-Reds would have the upper hand in the general average for the end of the season. Okan Hoca started the derby very controlled. For the first time, they went out with a 4-2-3-1 system.

The original full-backs were on the field against Fenerbahçe . Lemina also moved to the middle. Sara was used more in the foreground. But she had serious problems with productivity. Galatasaray could not create very clear positions in the first half. Galatasaray was in control of the game. Fenerbahçe was also effective in the first 10 minutes but the game progressed stagnantly. Both teams were not very effective and showed a mediocre image in the first half. Galatasaray wanted to use its advantage very well. Therefore, it played very patiently in the match.

I think Lemina was the star of the match. Barış and Sallai were not very effective. They could not get the ball in the front area.

Osimhen wore down Fenerbahçe's defense a bit compared to them.

As a result, Galatasaray had the advantage in the big derby.

"Galatasaray wanted to use its advantage very well. That's why it played very patiently in the derby. Okan Hoca and his students got what they wanted."

LEVENT TÜZEMEN: WE WATCHED A FIGHTING FIGHT

The Galatasaray-Fenerbahçe derby turned into a shackled duel. Both coaches prioritized defensive security and did not allow the tempo to increase. Winning was very valuable for Galatasaray, but not losing was important in order not to close the gap and to maintain the two-way average. In football, the rule of losing if you cannot win is always valid.

I congratulate Galatasaray fans, they did not throw any foreign objects onto the field, they did not care about the opponent and supported their own players completely.

While the Galatasaray management warned their fans not to be disruptive, perfect security measures were taken to prevent possible taunts between the two teams after the match. We watched a fierce competition. The referee of the match, Vincic, did not manage a match to Champions League standards, he called too many fouls, and managed the derby with a mentality of neither skewers nor kebabs. Galatasaray dominated the ball more but could not create enough opportunities to score.

Because Osimhen could not get effective crosses from the sidelines and was left alone in the attack. Lemina was the best of the match for Galatasaray. He managed his teammates like a maestro, he prevented Fenerbahçe attacks that could come to help the defense and create danger with his quickness. Some matches have stories. Captain Muslera, who participated in the Fenerbahçe derby for the 33rd time, grew in his goal and prevented three clear positions.

By the way, I also congratulate İrfan Can Eğribayat, he was also very careful in his goal for F.Bahçe. He acted early and prevented dangerous positions. G.Saray did not suffer any damage on the way to two championships, they continued the advantage they had, this draw will relieve the stress on the team and will allow Okan Hoca and his students to look forward more confidently.

MUSTAFA ÇULCU: HERE IS A FOREIGN REFEREE

Fenerbahçe is lying in wait waiting for Galatasaray to make a mistake. Both teams were in control. Galatasaray had difficulty getting the ball in the opponent's penalty area. They had more possession of the ball but there was no result. The first half was a midfield struggle where both teams had low goal expectations and no corners were taken. The second half, especially after the 60th minute, Fenerbahçe was the side that found more positions in the game by using its club's wealth. Both teams were dancing like Muhammed Ali, they had one punch, whoever hit would knock them out. But that punch did not come. It ended in a draw. As a former referee, I was very upset to see a foreign referee in the league after 55 years. Vincic took control of the game with verbal warnings in the first minutes of the match. Szymanski fouled goalkeeper Muslera before Fenerbahçe scored the goal. The goal was cancelled. The decision to continue in the Osimhen-Skriniar-Yusuf position where Galatasaray was expecting a penalty in the 33rd minute was correct. Yellow card to Osimhen for his challenge with goalkeeper Irfan.

The Slovenian referee called some lousy, unacceptable fouls. He ignored some clear fouls that were expected. The players' reactions and objections to the referee were not like the ones they did to the Turkish referees. They were slow and cautious. In the 66th minute, Skriniar-David went out for an aerial ball. The unexpected ball that hit Lamina's arm right behind them at a short distance would not be a penalty, the decision to continue is correct. If the referee's name was Selahattin and the VAR's name was Ali in this position, his refereeing would be over after this match. When it comes to Vincic and Alen, no one would say anything. In the 88th minute, he could have waited for the yellow card he gave to Sallai, played the advantage and then turned around and showed it. In Barış's attack on the edge of the penalty area, Mert first played with his support arm and then with his playing arm on the ball on the ground. He should have given Mert a yellow card and a free kick. The yellow cards he showed were correct. Turkish referees were criticized for not letting the game go, not letting it play, and calling too many fouls. Here you go; Elite category master foreign referee Vincic completed the match with 35 fouls.

GÜRCAN BİLGİÇ: THEY PLAYED FOR A DRAW

It was no surprise that both teams were after "moments". Instead of staying in their own half, Mourinho extended the opponent's game length with forehand pressure. Intelligent passes gave way to long balls. Szymanski and Fred closed the midfield and pushed the opponent away from the center. As a result, against Galatasaray , who had only one shot left in the first half and whose passing lanes were blocked, Fenerbahçe was waiting for the "right decisions" of their masters. Galatasaray, who could not respond to the passion of the passionate stands, was on the field. In return, Fenerbahçe wanted to put their center forwards into action with high balls from the right and left. Thus, we understood that entering the penalty area with passes was not in the attack plan.

Okan Buruk made a "fight" tactic with Lemina instead of Mertens. Aware that he "should not be defeated", he took the ball but gave up his positions. Fenerbahçe had two attacking minds; Fred and Tadic... Dzeko showed himself with the pass in every area where there was a crisis. Kostic became the key player. He was the name sought after both in defense and in offensive transitions. He also played effectively. In such a knife-edge match, both goalkeepers had confidence-inspiring performances. Muslera had two, and İrfan Can had one clear move. In a match where both sides got what they really wanted and were managed by two courageous coaches, Slovenian referee Vincic's management was also in this direction. Kurt referee is aware of team attitudes, and his foul decisions in critical positions also kept the match in balance. He was obviously warned, and watched every position with the eye of "are they cheating on me?" He had adverse decisions, but he ended the match without much discussion. There are 13 weeks left, the excitement continues.

İLKER YAĞCIOĞLU: THE RECEIVER CONSENTS, THE GIVING CONSENTS

The eagerly awaited match between two championship candidates in the SUPER League ended in a goalless draw. Frankly, I can say that the mountain gave birth to a mouse. We watched a match full of positionless passing errors and plenty of fouls. It would be right to say that there was no position that excited us to get out of our seats. The biggest reason for this was that the two coaches were thinking about not losing, not winning. They did not take any risks in the match. We saw a match with blind fighting in the midfield.

In Galatasaray , Lemina was the best player on the field. He played as if he was a two-man team. In Fenerbahçe , young Yusuf Akçiçek impressed everyone by playing without making any mistakes in such a high-tension match. It was a derby where the takers were willing, the givers were willing, and the bad guys were more numerous... I guess Okan Hoca is counting on the 6-point difference between them.

Jose Mourinho also predicts that Galatasaray can take the lead by taking into account their difficult away games in the Super League.

"Both teams' coaches thought about not losing, not winning. That's why they didn't take any risks in the big derby."

ALI GULTIKEN: THE WINNER OF THE NIGHT IS GALATASARAY

It was a magnificently balanced match. It can also be seen as a disappointment for those who expect plenty of positions and goals. However, it is necessary to see these processes as reasonable, where every kind of result will determine the championship race. When this is the case, the priority is always defense. When we look at it from this perspective, both teams played this side of the game very well. We can say that they locked the game against each other. There was probably no derby that ended with zero corners and zero shots on target in the first half, and they went down in history in this respect. The defensive players of both teams played perfectly. Yusuf from Fenerbahçe , Çağlar and Skriniar until he left; Sanchez and Abdülkerim from Galatasaray had a big role in keeping the game and the score this way. As the host, Galatasaray's choice of Sara instead of Mertens, the style of play they chose with Lemina and Torreira in the midfield, was already in a way that describes the match.

Fenerbahçe , as the side that needed to win more, seriously forced the game from time to time but could only bring it to a certain point. We saw parts in Fenerbahçe where Fred accompanied Dzeko's magnificent performance, but these did not turn into the desired attacking richness. Galatasaray started the match with a 6 point difference anyway. With this match ending in a draw, they also took the lead in the two-way average. This means 7 points. Therefore, we should accept this game chosen by Okan Hoca in Galatasaray as normal. When he added the advantage in average to the point difference with the most important opponent in the championship, he continued as the winner of the night. It was important for Fenerbahçe to still be in the race without losing.

ÖMER ÜRÜNDÜL: THEY LOCKED THE MATCH

It was natural that Fenerbahçe would prioritize team defense away from home. Considering that they were ahead by 6 points, Galatasaray emphasized defensive security and played an unusually controlled football at home, so the first 45 minutes were spent with zero chances for both teams. Although there was some movement in the second half, the vicious circle did not change. There were two memorable positions. One was Muslera's save on Djiku's header from a dead ball, and the other was İrfan Can's successful intervention on the ball that Osimhen entered in a critical position. Of course, since it was a lock-on match, the 3 center forwards Dzeko, En-Nesyri and Osimhen could not show their presence. I believe that Galatasaray's right back Frankowski will be beneficial to the team day by day. In my opinion, the best interim transfer is Lemina.

Let's come to the Fenerbahçe front. Despite his great career, I have never seen a coach who insists on his mistakes as much as Mourinho. I have emphasized many times, especially in matches with high difficulty, if one of the two center forwards is 39 years old and Tadic, who has very little physical strength, plays behind them, a successful result depends only on coincidences. And this Tadic stayed on the field for 90 minutes. Oğuz is a wing forward, except for two starts yesterday, he played almost as a right back. In my opinion, the best of the team are the 3-man defense, goalkeeper İrfan and Fred, who plays alone with great devotion. Galatasaray gained a great advantage in the league with this result. Vincic, who has reduced the tension very well with his great experience and made it felt that he is a referee authority on the field, should also be congratulated.

BÜLENT TİMURLENK: MOURINHO'S MOVIE

Those who have followed Mourinho's career for a quarter of a century know that the Portuguese will not attack with his cannon and rifle in order to gain much from matches where he will lose everything. The fans definitely want 3 points, but here comes emotional intelligence. More than mind games, it is a war of nerves... In the first half when Frankowski fell into difficult situations against Kostic and Tadic in Galatasaray 's four-man defense, when the young stopper emerged victorious from the Sallai-Yusuf pairing in the space behind Fenerbahçe's defense and Barış could not gain the upper hand against Oğuz Aydın-Çağlar, Buruk's only solution was Sara's line-breaking passes. He could not score them anyway.

Saying "Mourinho would have drawn the score in this derby" also meant scoring a goal with a fast attack or a dead ball organization as long as he did not fall behind on the scoreboard. Buruk did not prefer to change his wings. The Portuguese took the momentum when he took the carded Çağlar and stiffened the midfield with Amrabat. Okan Buruk was late again, but Yunus and Mertens, whom he brought from the bench, did not contribute either. If Lemina is holding the midfield alone with his unprepared state, Buruk should look at the state of his players, whom he said were ready… Jose Mourinho is the one who wrote and directed the scenario of the match in which Galatasaray scored an accurate shot on its own field and did not even take a corner. The coming weeks will show whether he got what he wanted or not, but a football fact is that Galatasaray does not play enough football to win a derby/big match in 2025… The best of the derby are Lemina and Fred…

AHMET ÇAKAR: IT DID NOT AFFECT THE RESULT

We watched a match where there was no winner, no football, precautions and control were at the forefront. Mourinho rightfully said let's not lose first. He set up the usual team defense very well and did not give Galatasaray almost a single position. Some players in particular were below their standards. For example Tadic, for example Dzeko, for example Fred... I found Çağlar very successful until he left and Yusuf throughout the match. Galatasaray did not have a very good player other than Lemina. Apparently Okan Buruk also thought let's not lose first, let's not relive the nightmare of conceding simple goals for weeks. So much so that he conceded goals from many simple teams, even village teams, that if he had conceded last night it would have been very difficult to compensate. In the end, there was no winner. The 6 point difference continues, and the two-way average is completely in Galatasaray's favor. We can say that some players or many names are disappointing. Osimhen and En-Nesyri are at the top of these. These players, who have been scoring goals constantly in recent weeks, were barely able to get into position last night.