Harsh words from Nihat Kahveci to Sergen Yalçın: "Cengiz Ünder was not on the pitch"

In the 30th week of the Trendyol Super League, Beşiktaş left the pitch with a 2-1 defeat after conceding two very similar goals in their away match against Samsunspor. The performance displayed by the black-and-white team and head coach Sergen Yalçın's squad choices became a major topic of discussion after the match.

Sharing his thoughts on the Kontraspor program after the match, former footballer and football commentator Nihat Kahveci specifically criticized the decision to start Cengiz Ünder in the first 11. After praising Samsunspor's game, Kahveci said:

"I congratulate the Samsunspor players who were well-concentrated in front of their fans in their own stadium. They deserved it, they won. They scored two identical goals; they were similar and very stylish goals. I don't know what they did during the halftime break, but we watched a completely different Samsunspor in the second half. Beşiktaş, on the other hand, seemed to have finished the match at halftime, as if they were in the mode of 'I have a Turkish Cup match on Thursday, we will host Alanyaspor at home'."

EMPHASIS ON "FAVORITISM FROM COACH SERGEN"

Pointing out Beşiktaş's shortcomings on the pitch and hopes for the coming year, Kahveci made the following assessment regarding Cengiz Ünder's performance:

"For Beşiktaş, the point was to give hope for next year and to see their shortcomings while playing. I said this a month ago. This was the right thing to do. You will see your shortcomings by playing, but you have to offer something. Should Beşiktaş's only accurate shot in the first half have come from Agbadou? What did Beşiktaş play in the first half? Orkun is struggling left and right, doing something... Other than that, Cengiz is not on the pitch. A winger, 'the wing of the Eagle'... Cengiz is not on the pitch. We say something about Coach Sergen, and it looks like we are jealous of Coach Sergen. But he is favored, I mean, he has favoritism from Coach Sergen!"

Nihat Kahveci also underlined that Cengiz Ünder did not show a performance that would justify his place in the starting 11 and continued his words as follows:

"Did he deserve to play in the starting 11 with his performance? In which match that he started did he offer something to Beşiktaş? I don't remember. Are there any matches where he was effective when he came on as a substitute?

We say it here, but for those who understand... Cengiz started today even though he hasn't shown any performance in any match he started in the 11. He was not on the pitch for the first 45 minutes... No accurate shots, almost no accurate crosses... He always takes the ball, comes inside and passes, it's a simple game. When he dribbles, he slips; when he shoots, it hits the defense or goes out. Take him out at halftime, coach, do you understand?"

Following the defeat suffered by the black-and-white team, the performance of both the technical staff and the players continues to be debated in the football community.

News Source: 12punto