The highflying Beşiktaş Black Eagles return to Spor Toto Super League action on Sunday, just four days after beating Eskişehirspor 2-0 in week 18 at Fiyapı Stadium in İstanbul.
For the Eagles, action now moves to Ankara’s 19 Mayıs Stadium, where Carlos Carvalhal’s men will vie for precious points against inconsistent, bottom-placed capital representative Ankaragücü.
Portugal striker Simao Sabrosa returned to the fold on Wednesday after being sidelined for several months due to injury. And the 32-year-old Portuguese was one of the stars of the night.
The Eagles [10-5-3] hold a good domestic record despite the fact that they are playing on two tough fronts — the Spor Toto Super League and the Europa League.
They were third from the top in the domestic league at the halfway point in December and first in the Group E qualifying round of the Europa League. The Eagles, therefore, marched majestically into the second round of the Europa League, where they will be up against Braga, the famous team in the land of Carvalhal’s birth.
Portugal captain-playmaker Ricardo Quaresma remains doubtful on Sunday, but his compatriot Sabrosa — barring unforeseen circumstances — is very likely to make Carvalhal’s first XI. Beşiktaş has now proved to friends and foes alike that it is a force to be reckoned with in Turkish and European football, and so opponents will have to do their thinking before encountering the Black Eagles.
Flagging Ankaragücü, with new coach Hakan Kutlu, stumbled upon a winning formula on Tuesday, beating newcomer Mersin İdman Yurdu 2-1 for the Ankarans’ second victory this season. Ankara, therefore, is in very high spirits and so Carvalhal and his boys in black and white must guard against complacency. “Pride goes before a fall,” they say.
Related posts: