Besiktas 3-1 Bursaspor
Having secured progression to the next round of the Turkish Cup in midweek, Carlos Carvalhal’s men entered the league match against Bursaspor in dire need of all three points to keep pace with Turkish League leaders Galatasaray.
With Quaresma injured and Simao struggling to regain fitness, the Black Eagles continue to rely heavily on a resurgent Manuel Fernandes for creative inspiration. Hugo Almeida, who has struggled in the Turkish League as of late, also started for Besiktas.
The hosts started brightly enough, and dominated possession from the first whistle but Bursaspor looked confident on the counterattack, creating a few nervous moments for the home fans inside the opening minutes.
Almeida ends drought
Besiktas’ early dominance paid off in the 7th minute when Hugo Almeida finally ended his scoring drought with a fine header following a cross from Necip Uysal. Bursaspor should have brought the scores level only a minute later when Turgay missed a sitter with the goal at his mercy.
Besiktas continued to press for more and continued to create chances, but Bursaspor turned them away and eventually equalised on the counter. Robbing Fernandes of possession near midfield, Stanislav Sestak played a throughball to Alfred N’Diaye, who just managed to nick the ball into the path of Pablo Batalla to sweep home from 15 yards out.
Any ill effects to Besiktas’ confidence due to the goal quickly faded, and they again took the lead only three minutes later when Fabian Ernst’s long pass from midfield found Edu, who struck the ball low and hard into the far corner of the net.
The visitors emerged from half time re-energised and they began to pressure Besiktas, winning the midfield battle and working hard to find the equaliser. Slovakian international Sestak brought a decent save out of keeper Rustu Recber, firing in a low shot from a tight angle.
Simao enters the fray
Simao entered the match in the 71st minute, with Carvalhal looking to extend Besiktas’ lead as the visitors continued to threaten.
The flow of the game had by now reversed entirely from the first half, with Bursaspor on the attack and Besiktas looking to hit back on the counter. In the 81st minute, Ozan Ipek narrowly misplaced his shot the wrong side of the post following decent build-up play down the left, and the visitors would soon be made to pay for their profligacy in front of goal.
Two minutes later, Besiktas put the game to bed with a move involving all three Portuguese internationals. Fernandes sent in an excellent cross from the left, which Almeida headed powerfully against the right post. The rebound fell to Simao who laid the ball across the penalty area to Pektemek to slot home.
The result sees the Black Eagles maintain their position in third place, six points adrift of the league summit. Carvalhal will be encouraged to have seen his side score three goals and maintain a comprehensive attacking threat in spite of Quaresma’s continued absence, especially with a difficult away trip to Fenerbahce and a Europa League clash with Braga coming up in the next month.
Hugo Almeida:
“The results are coming. Our team is on good form and have started the year very well. I’m happy for that reason and to score a goal, mainly because it helped us to get a positive result.”
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