Okan Buruk: This year's match was much more enjoyable

In the 6th week of the Trendyol Super League, Galatasaray defeated Fenerbahçe 3-1 in an away match. Speaking at the press conference held after the match, Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk said, "Before the match, we had talked with our players about when we had the ball and when the opponent had the ball. We implemented this clearly in the first half. We went into the break leading 2-0.

It was important for us to score the first goal. In the first half, we gave away some positions, especially from Maximin's transitions. We also tried to use Kaan further up the pitch. One of the things we did poorly was playing long balls. When we played the pass, we broke down our opponent easily.

When we look at last year, this year's match was much more enjoyable. Both teams created many more chances. In the final part, we switched to a defensive formation. We waited a bit more, defended in the back, and protected the 3-1 victory. We also gave our opponent some chances.

We achieved an important, valuable victory. I want to congratulate my players. I dedicate this victory to the Galatasaray community and its fans. The victory we achieved here is very important. Both teams should be congratulated. It was a clean match. It was a match without fighting or brawling. In this sense, the stadium atmosphere was beautiful, and we left the pitch in the right way when we won," he said.

"WE WANT TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN TURKEY AND EUROPE"

When asked about how the reflection of their 6-out-of-6 start in the league would be after the criticisms directed at him at the beginning of the season, Buruk said, "In recent weeks, players all over the world have been complaining about the burden placed on them. Many players are complaining, asking if they should go on strike or do something else. I made the same complaints at the beginning of the season. The league ends late, the number of matches is very high. A Super Cup match was scheduled 1 week to 10 days after the players arrived.

As long as these are delayed, you can make mistakes. I, and the team, made mistakes. It is normal to be criticized if a team like ours cannot qualify for the Champions League. No matter how lacking we were, we should have qualified for the Champions League. This is a process. We are finding our form. We finished the transfer period, and now we are more comfortable.

Our players know they are here. We went through a very difficult transfer period. There is pressure on us. There is incredible pressure on me and our president. They are pushing for the best, and we are trying to do our best. We also need to give playing time to the new players. We are more of a team now. From now on, our matches will be ones where our performance goes even higher. When we look at the bench, there are very valuable players. We have an important squad. We want to be successful both in Turkey and in Europe. We have 6 out of 6 in the league. The Europa League is starting. We need to do much better for that. A new competition starts for us on Wednesday," he stated.

"I THINK THE REFEREE MADE THE RIGHT DECISIONS"

Stating that they shook hands with Fenerbahçe manager Jose Mourinho before and after the match and that it went well, the yellow-red manager said, "We did this in a way befitting high-level coaches. I think most of the yellow cards were correct. There was contact on the penalty. We were careful, we didn't see a second yellow card. It was a clean match. We didn't see anything bad between the players on the pitch. I think the referee made the right decisions for both teams in general," he said.

"IT DOES NOT MATTER WHO THE OPPONENT'S MANAGER IS"

When reminded of the statements Mourinho had previously made about him, Okan Buruk said the following:

"When you look at it objectively, it is normal to do this against a team that is the champion of the last two years and has one of the best squads in the league. He is new to Turkey, he is trying to get to know Turkish football. We don't know how things are explained to him. We shouldn't blame Mourinho for some of his statements. When it is explained to him like that, he can speak in a very different way. This was also a strategy. Beating Fenerbahçe was a motivation for us. I said this before the match: for me, it does not matter who the opponent's manager is. We are playing a derby. Winning against Fenerbahçe was important. I thank my players."

Evaluating Yunus Akgün's performance, Buruk concluded his words by saying, "We wanted Yunus to go to the center. Sometimes he remained static, Yunus and Sara. I wanted both of them to show variability on the pitch in terms of playmaking. We also found Mertens and Sara in open spaces. The goal is also very important. With the comfort of being 2-0 up, there were parts where we played better. I am very pleased with Yunus's performance. He played 3 matches in a row. He really needed to play matches."

News Source: İHA