Turkish Super Lig Weekly: Title favourites off to winning starts as dramatic season begins
Without question, this season of the Super Lig is one of the most highly-anticipated in years.
Defending champions Galatasaray have a star-studded squad and are aiming for their third consecutive title, which would also make them the first team in Turkey to win 25 Super Lig titles.
Fenerbahce have failed to win the league in 10 years, and in a desperate attempt to finally get their hands on their elusive 20th Super Lig crown, president Ali Koc appointed legendary manager Jose Mourinho, while also spending big money on Allan Saint-Maximin and Youssef En-Nesyri.
Besiktas finished a whopping 46 points behind Galatasaray last season, and have undergone a massive rebuild, bringing in Giovanni van Bronckhorst and signing Ciro Immobile, Rafa Silva and Gabriel Paulista.
There is also the return of some legendary former Super Lig players as managers to add to the mix, in what is sure to be a 2024/25 season full of Hollywood scripts and drama.
Title favourites off to winning starts
All three title favourites got off to good starts on the opening weekend of the season, despite less-than-convincing performances.
Galatasaray laboured for much of their 2-1 win against Hatayspor, even going a goal down in the second half. However, a penalty from Mauro Icardi and then a 90th-minute header from Michy Batshuayi gave them the victory.
Batshuayi was signed from arch-rivals Fenerbahce on a free this summer, meaning he has now played for all three of the giant Istanbul clubs. As expected, making the controversial move has sparked a lot of discussion and abuse from certain Fenerbahce fans, but that hasn't deterred the player, who impressed after coming off the bench.
The Belgian is a fabulous striker in Turkey, scoring 39 goals in 80 games, with a lot of those appearances coming from the bench. It is a great acquisition for Galatasaray, who have been struggling off the pitch following the resignation of sporting director Erden Timur, who left due to club politics.
Fenerbahce's first game under Mourinho was also far from scintillating. In a cagey game against Adana Demirspor, a first-half finish from Edin Dzeko - assisted by Saint-Maximin - proved to be the difference.
The football hasn't been great under Mourinho so far, but that comes as little surprise. The Portuguese's main objective is to win the league, regardless of how pretty it is. And Mourinho knows a lot about winning titles.
Also in typical Mourinho fashion, he received a booking for protesting too much just 20 minutes into the match.
And finally, Besiktas battled past Samsunspor 2-0, with Silva and Paulista both bagging on league debut. Silva is anticipated by many to be one of the signings of the summer in Turkey, coming off the back of a 14-goal and 12-assist season at Benfica.
However, they didn't look too cohesive in their opening game and gave up a number of chances at the back.
All three of the title favourites have plenty of room to improve, but one game into the season, no one will be overly concerned quite yet.
Returning legends
Fenerbahce legend Alex de Souza was appointed as Antalyaspor manager in the summer with just three years of experience behind him, and his era got off to a pretty flat start, drawing 0-0 at home with newly-promoted Goztepe.
Eyupspor are in the Super Lig for the first time in their history, with another legend - former Galatasaray, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona star Arda Turan - at the helm.
In the end, they fought well to hold on for a 1-1 draw at Alanyaspor, with Samuel Saiz scoring their first-ever goal in the Turkish first division.
Arda was also sent off in the game for protesting and verbally abusing a referee. An all-action start to life in the Super Lig.
Moment of the week
A remarkable story unfolded in the game between Fenerbahce and Adana Demirspor, as the latter fielded a 15-year-old goalkeeper. There wasn't much pressure on Zeniz Eren Donmezer, but the young goalkeeper happened to look extremely assured and comfortable, making four saves.
Last season, Adana Demirspor also handed league debuts to a 14-year-old and two other 15-year-olds. The situation at the club is pretty bad financially, with FIFA imposing a transfer ban on them; a major factor as to why so many teens are getting debuts. Regardless, his performance for such a young man in a hostile atmosphere was controlled, and he surely has a good future ahead of him.
A special mention to these 60 seconds of madness too as Alanyaspor faced Eyupspor. It just encapsulates everything wonderful about the Super Lig.
