STSL: Beşiktaş: 3 Adanaspor: 2

Beşiktaş have expanded their lead at the top of the table to 7 points after a (to some) surprisingly competitive and difficult game against last placed Adanaspor. The Black Eagles came in front three times but gave away their lead twice, finally winning the game with a Dusko Tosic header in the 80th minute.

The Black Eagles started off the game well and got on the scoresheet after just 11 minutes, Tolgay Arslan gave a terrific through ball for Vincent Aboubakar who finished off the chance with grace: 1-0.

Beşiktaş allowed Adanaspor to grow in the match following the opening goal and the experimental backline looked shaky on several occassions, after 24 minutes Magaye Gueye showed Tolgay Arslan that he could do what Tolgay did earlier and delivered a tremendous throughball in for Roni, who finished off the chance calmly: 1-1 halfway through the first half.

“I coudln’t sleep for 2 days after I missed my penalty against Lyon, I’m very happy to score this goal” – Dusko Tosic after the match.

Despite Beşiktaş having the bulk of possession, Adanaspor did well to frustrate the league leaders and there were no more goals in the first half. In particular Adanaspor’s goalkeeper Charles Itandje was doing everything to drop the tempo of the game down by wasting as much time as possible everytime he got his hands on the ball, the home crowd furiously protested but referee Halil Umut Meler refused to show Itandje a yellow card which was beyond the comprehension of everyone in the stadium.

Şenol Güneş had put forth a somewhat experimental lineup during the first half as he was giving both Adriano and Quaresma some much needed rest, but the variated 4-3-3 he was trying out in the first half clearly did not have the desired effect so he brought on Ricardo Quaresma for Atiba Hutchinson at halftime. With that change Anderson Talisca moved in to the number 10 slot while Tolgay and Ozzie took control of the centre of midfield.

Beşiktaş started well to the second half and put Adanapsor under pressure, Ricardo Quaresma and Ryan Babel did well to stretch the opposition. It didn’t take long for the Black Eagles to take the lead once again as Tolgay Arslan found Anderson Talisca in between the Adanaspor defenders, the Brazilian had a great first touch and turned away from his direct opponent allowing himself to come one on one with goalkeeper Itandje, Talisca placed the ball perfectly next to the goalkeeper: 2-1 after 51 minutes.

Beşiktaş dealt better with their lead this time around but somehow still found themselves back on level terms after 66 minutes, this time Magaye Gueye turned goalscorer instead of provider and rifled the ball through a forest of defenders to beat Fabri in his lower right corner: 2-2 after 66 minutes.

Unlike the equalizer in the first half, this one hadn’t really been hanging in the air as Beşiktaş’ shift in tactics had worked to an extent. Adriano was brought on a few minutes later and this allowed Beşiktaş to make better use of their left flank.

Despite a clear headed opportunity for Vincent Aboubakar and Anderson Talisca, it wasn’t until an 80th minute Quaresma free-kick that the Black Eagles could reclaim their lead, Quaresma curled in his cross perfectly and it was met by Dusko Tosic’s head, who scored his first ever goal for Beşiktaş (at the right end of the pitch, as he had previously scored 3 own goals already): 3-2 after 80 minutes.

This time the Black Eagles would not give up their lead again and secured all three points at Vodafone Arena. Beşiktaş now move 7 points clear at the top of the table as they travel to neighbours and closest rivals Başakşehir next Sunday. If Beşiktaş maange to get all 3 points, they will have a two digit gap with all the teams in their tracks with just 5 games to go.

Süper Lig standings

Who was your man of the match?

Who was your #MOTM during the #BEŞİKTAŞ–#Adanaspor match?

— Beşiktaş Int. (@Besiktas_Int) April 24, 2017

Interesting facts

• Since 1994/95 every team that has gone in to the final 6 matches with a 7 point lead has become Champions.
• Beşiktaş have now gone 24 consecutive league games without defeat (W21 D3), the highest such current streak in the league.
• Dusko Tosic scores his first goal for Beşiktaş, he had previously scored 3 own goals however.
• Magaye Gueye has had a hand in 5 of Adanaspor’s last 6 league goals, today he scored and gave an assist.
• Tolgay Arslan is the first Beşiktaş player this season to give two assists in a single league match after Ricardo Quaresma (who did it against both Konyaspor and Alanyaspor).
• Anderson Talisca has now scored 14 goals in the s hirt of Beşiktaş, he has also provided 6 assists.
• Atiba Hutchinson has been one yellow card away from a suspension for 17 consecutive games now, after seeing his last yellow card against Adanaspor in the first half of the season.
• Vincent Aboubakar has scored 8 goals in 10 appearances since returning from the Africa Cup, in which he scored the winning goal in the final for Cameroon.

Stadium: Vodafone Arena

Official: Halil Umut Meler

Beşiktaş XI: Fabricio Ramirez; Gökhan Gönül – Marcelo Guedes – Atınç Nukan (72′ Adriano Correia) – Dusko Tosic; Atiba Hutchinson (46′ Ricardo Quaresma) – Oğuzhan Özyakup – Tolgay Arslan; Anderson Talisca – Vincent Aboubakar (82′ Necip Uysal) – Ryan Babel

Reserves: Tolga Zengin, Andreas Beck, Adriano Correia, Necip Uysal, Gökhan Inler, Ricardo Quaresma, Demba Ba

Head coach: Şenol Güneş

Adanaspor XI: Charles Itandje; Mauricio Ramos – Digao – Renan Diniz – Didi; Tevfik Altındağ – Renan Foguinho – Vladimir Koman (59′ Bekir Yilmaz) – Roni – Vinicius (76′ Ahmet Dereli); Magaye Gueye

Reserves: Hayrettin Mert Akyüz, Emre Uruç, Halil İbrahim Pehlivan, Samican Keskin, Bekir Yılmaz, Ahmet Dereli, Reynaldo

Head coach: Eyüp Arın

Goals: Vincent Aboubakar (11′), Roni (24′), Anderson Talisca (51′), Magaye Gueye (66′), Dusko Tosic (80′)

Yellow cards: Renan Foguinho (58′), Didi (79′), Ramos (79′)

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Kaan Bayazit

Editor-in-chief at Beşiktaş International

Freelance sports writer specialized in Turkish football and Beşiktaş. Co-host of the Black Eagles podcast. Frequently featured in World Soccer Digest Japan and many other international media outlets. Following Turkish football for close to two decades. Proud father to Aedin.

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