Sports writers evaluate the Fenerbahçe-Beşiktaş derby: 'A derby that confirms the 35-point gap'

Derby excitement took place in the 34th week of the Super Lig.

Fenerbahçe, continuing its pursuit of the top spot, hosted Beşiktaş at home.

The Yellow-Canaries left the match with a 2-1 victory thanks to goals from Michy Batshuayi and İrfan Can Kahveci. While Cenk Tosun scored the only goal for Beşiktaş, Al-Musrati was sent off in the 25th minute after receiving a straight red card for the Black-Whites.

With this result, Fenerbahçe increased its points to 89. It maintained the 4-point gap with the leader, Galatasaray. Beşiktaş, on the other hand, remained at 51 points and dropped to 5th place.

Sports writers evaluated the Fenerbahçe-Beşiktaş derby.

BİLAL MEŞE: AL-MUSRATI'S WORK

The summary of the derby; the one with the stronger squad won. While Beşiktaş, trying to finish the league with missing players, impressed with their struggle in the second half, it was left to us to remind everyone of Al-Musrati! (MİLLİYET)

ATİLLA GÖKÇE: LATE EXCITEMENT

Fenerbahçe had forgotten the pain of the blow they received in Sivas. They showed that they believe the league adventure is not over yet. The support the fans gave their team should also be appreciated. There is a question to ask Serdar Topraktepe: Coach, what is the point of waiting until the 78th minute to bring Cenk Tosun into the game? Didn't you waste the opportunity to turn the whole match around? Beşiktaş's poor performance yesterday is actually not a one-match collapse. It was a nightmare film full of 6 coaches, two presidents, defeats, and injuries that should never happen again. Anyway... There is the Turkish Cup, at least. If they win it, they will save everyone! (MİLLİYET)

GÜNTEKİN ONAY: FENERBAHÇE WON WITH A DIFFERENCE IN PLAY

Fenerbahçe was much stronger on the field yesterday. There was a serious difference in play and quality. Fenerbahçe, which took a deserved victory, continued to stay in the race. The decisions made by the new management in Beşiktaş regarding football do not seem very correct. Beşiktaş did not gain strength with the decisions regarding Fernando Santos, Al-Musrati, Ernest Muci, Joe Worrall, and the exclusion of players from the squad; it went backward. (HÜRRİYET)

UĞUR MELEKE: A DERBY THAT CONFIRMS THE 35-POINT GAP

To read the dominance Fenerbahçe established over Beşiktaş yesterday, one needs to rewind the film a bit. Fenerbahçe started the derby yesterday exactly 35 points and 51 goal difference ahead of its opponent... Batshuayi, who scored the first goal yesterday and was involved in the production of the second, was one of the best of the day. However, I think Dzeko and Batshuayi could also be on the field together. The reason for the decrease in Dzeko's goal count was that he has been coming too deep to play recently. When he had to act like a playmaker, Dzeko's goal rhythm naturally decreased. I think Dzeko in the deep and Batshuayi up front could be on the field together, this duo. (HÜRRİYET)

ALİ GÜLTİKEN: THERE IS NOTHING WORSE

Fenerbahçe turned the control it took from the very first second of the match in the direction it wanted throughout the entire match. It is not a very acceptable situation for Beşiktaş that Fenerbahçe, which won the duels, stayed on its feet, and always had possession of the ball, crushed Beşiktaş this much. There are many matches where Beşiktaş was missing against Fenerbahçe. There were times they won and times they lost in those. But in terms of play, it has never been this bad. (SABAH)

GÜRCAN BİLGİÇ: THEY ACTUALLY PLAYED 10 AGAINST 10

For the 3 Turkish player requirement, they had to take out Becao and bring in Çağlar so that Krunic could enter. That Krunic made Fenerbahçe play with 10 men against a Beşiktaş playing with 10 men. Dzeko starting on the bench was the "chewing gum" of the pre-match. When Batshuayi scored the goal, the "didn't we say so?" team turned on silent mode. Actually, Dzeko is more useful in such a passing game. But he couldn't have scored the goal Batshuayi scored. 60 minutes of Fenerbahçe, and the last 30 minutes of Beşiktaş's struggle, hats off to their minds. (SABAH)

FATİH DOĞAN: WEIGHT ON THE SCALE OF FRIENDSHIP

Whatever the weight of a friend who is not by your side when you need them is on the "scale of friendship," the situation of a footballer who cannot be by his teammates' side with his play on the field when needed, or leaves them alone, is no different. Al-Musrati has not displayed a tangible performance since the day he arrived. For weeks, I waited for a contribution, but in vain... As if that wasn't enough, he saw red with such a cheap, unnecessary intervention on Fred in the derby and left his team alone. Al-Musrati is being crushed under his 14 million Euro cost; if he continues like this, he won't be the only one crushed! He scored an own goal in the Galatasaray match, and yesterday he burned his team with an unnecessary red card. (SABAH)

ERMAN ÖZGÜR: DID NOT DROP OUT OF THE RACE

Fenerbahçe, which secured the match with İrfan Can's goal without needing to reach the tempo of the first half, was about to play a fun derby when Cenk Tosun scored a delicious goal in the final section, making the last minutes anxious for Fenerbahçe fans. However, the form or quality in Beşiktaş was so lacking that despite this goal, their breath was not enough for points. With the derby victory, Fenerbahçe both did not drop out of the race and closed the week by preventing a possible fan reaction. (FANATİK)

ALİ ECE: QUALITY DIFFERENCE

In the first goal, Fred's chip pass and Tadiç's chest assist were of a kind that clearly showed the talent superiority of the Fenerbahçe players. Conversely, İrfan Can Kahveci's finesse shot in the second goal was also a lesson in class. The most beautiful goal of the match came from Cenk Tosun. İsmail Kartal's decision to make them hit the brakes instead of trying to make them play dominantly against a missing opponent brought Beşiktaş back into the match when they were 10 men. Time and material were not enough. (FANATİK)

FATİK ÇETİNER: CONTINUE TO THE RACE

With the goal from Batshuayi (who proved his coach right) coming as the first 30 minutes were ending, the course of the match began to become clear. We watched Fenerbahçe chasing goals until the end of the half and Beşiktaş looking for accidental goals. In the second part, we saw that Beşiktaş, which was struggling with 10 men, was again playing under pressure. When Fenerbahçe, playing on the attack, increased the gap to 2 with a goal from İrfan Can (the indispensable foot), we said 'the match is over'. After the goal, Batshuayi and Dzeko swapped places (what would happen if they played together while the opponent was 10 men?). Just as we thought Fenerbahçe would increase the gap, the excellent goal by Cenk Tosun, who replaced Semih in the last 10 minutes, confused both Fenerbahçe's minds and feet. The excitement that was not experienced in the match was experienced in the last 10 minutes, and Fenerbahçe ended a fierce rivalry where it could have gone for a big win in a troubled way, but still said 'continue to the race'. (FANATİK)