Okan Buruk: We are sad about the draw, but we played against a very good team

In the 11th week of the Trendyol Süper Lig, Galatasaray drew 0-0 at home against Trabzonspor. Speaking at the post-match press conference, Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk said, "We didn't start the match very well today. We applied pressure, but our opponent was able to play out of that pressure with passes. Using Lemina in the back might show a decrease in the intensity of our pressing in midfield compared to previous matches."

Lemina was one of the best players on the pitch. We had deficiencies. Throughout the match, there were areas where we struggled to bring in reinforcements from the bench to address these gaps. We played much better in the second half. Our opponent is second in the league and is a very good team. They are also a physically strong team. They played brave football. I congratulate coach Fatih. There were moments where we reached the opponent's goal quite easily. We might have looked like we played well offensively, but we were not having a good day.

We didn't do very well with our final passes or in terms of finishing. If we had managed those, we could have easily decided the match. It was a game played between two good teams, the first and second in the league. It could have been higher quality in terms of attacking. The ball stayed in play for very little time, only 48 minutes. In the Champions League, we see 60 minutes.

I think the referees stop the game significantly. We need to find a solution for this. The Central Referee Committee (MHK) is holding meetings about this, but when it comes to the match, the reluctance to keep the game moving and the ability of opponents to waste time wherever they want reduces the time the ball stays in play.

He could have extended the time the ball stayed in play. The stoppage time was very short. We finished the match offensively, but unfortunately, we couldn't find the goal. We are sad about the draw, but we played against a very good team. We need to forget this match and prepare for the next European game," he said.

"THE REFEREE COULD HAVE SPEEDED IT UP PROPERLY"

When asked about the performance of the match referee Cihan Aydın, Buruk replied, "He could have speeded up the match properly. He didn't want to speed it up much. They like it this way. We know there is no such intention. Slowing down the match works in their favor. They are happier that way. I don't think he managed a bad match within the context of the game. Referees are also going through a difficult period. We need to support them all. From my perspective, we are going to the Champions League after a match that lasted 48 minutes. There, the ball will stay in play for 60 minutes. These are the areas where Turkish teams struggle. I don't want to say anything about the referee's management."

"I TRUST BARIŞ"

Regarding Barış Alper Yılmaz's performance, the yellow-reds' manager said, "There is a lot of pressure on him. We see it more clearly, especially in home matches. Every player who steps onto the pitch is under pressure. Specifically regarding Barış, there were moments when he was substituted both two matches ago and today where some fans applauded while others reacted. This pressure has a negative impact on the players. There can be times when players struggle. Barış is experiencing this too. A goal he scores, an assist he makes, or a good game he plays at home will bring back the more relaxed, confident Barış we saw at the beginning of the season. He is doing the right things both in defense and offense during the game, but perhaps we see that ease a little less in the final third. I trust Barış and all my players. We need to support Barış. Our fans are always by our players' side."

Stating that they have gone through a difficult period by playing strong games, Okan Buruk said, "We had injuries, but not too many. We had injuries to two players who were not with us at the start of the season. We did not have injuries to other players. We played matches against Göztepe, Bodo/Glimt, Liverpool, and Başakşehir; we played a lot of matches. We played the Beşiktaş match with 10 men. I think we did good work physically in all the matches. In the Bodo/Glimt match, we covered 120 km in terms of running distance. I think we did good work physically and mentally, that we got through this process correctly, and that we have become more of a team. We are continuing our journey here both as the league leader and as a team that has collected 6 points in Europe."

"HE KNOWS VERY WELL HOW TO DEFEND"

When asked about German footballer Leroy Sane's defensive performance, Buruk said, "He has always defended well since he arrived. He has made defensive transitions very well. He is a player with speed. He is a player who plays for the German National Team and Bayern Munich. He knows very well how to defend. He also tries to join the pressure in attack. I am very happy in this regard. In the second half, he also did very productive work in attack during the game. He was also one of the best in attack."

The yellow-reds' manager stated that there can be adaptation issues between league and European matches, saying, "After a Champions League match, adapting back to a league match or thinking about the next match before the Champions League can happen to players. Sometimes it happens to us too. Today we were playing against the second-placed team in the league. Their concentration and desire were good. I think we finished the match in a positive way."

Speaking about the fixture issue in the league, Okan Buruk concluded his words by saying, "This is the year we are most comfortable because we didn't determine it. Other teams suffered, and they determined the fixture. I don't think any fixture is an advantage or a disadvantage. You cannot experience these without playing. What looks like an advantage becomes a disadvantage. In my first year, I went to 7 away games in the first 10 weeks. It was a tough fixture. We used the fixture advantage of this in the second half. Not traveling is important, but there are already many Istanbul teams. We will go to the Kocaeli away game next week. In the second half, we will play very tough away games back-to-back like Göztepe and Trabzonspor. This will be a disadvantage for us in the second half as well."