The home side started out a bit slowly which lead to Fenerbahce’s opening goal by left-back Reto Ziegler. The Swiss international made a quick run down the middle and was spotted by captain Alex De Souza who sent him through. Then, he simply slotted the ball into the bottom far corner past Uruguayan international keeper Fernando Muslera.

Galatasaray piled on the pressure with chance after chance but the first half would end 0-1 to the visitors.

Twenty-three minutes into the second half, Gala finally netted their equalizer as Selcuk Inan curled in a free kick from twenty yards out. Twenty-two minutes were remaining.

Just a minute after scoring, the home side almost scored their second off of a counter attack when Johan Elmander sent in a teaser in front of goal that rolled past the keeper and the defense but no one was there to tap it home for the lead.

After four more unsuccessful chances by Gala, the visitors constructed a near perfect counter-attack which ended with the winning goal. Substitute Miroslav Stoch darted past the defense to latch onto the through ball and curled his shot past Muslera into the back of the net. There was ten minutes left on the clock.

Galatasaray missed one equalizing chance after another. Five minutes from time, Elmander volleyed the ball after a quick bounce but it soared well over the cross bar.

The best chance arrived two minutes later when Elmander’s cross reached a wide open Milan Baros whose header sliced past the near post. That chance summed up the home side’s night.

Galatasaray took a total of 28 shots which found the target 9 times while Fenerbahce took five shots with four of them reaching goal.

The home side took more corner kicks, had more possession, committed less fouls, and as previously stated, outshot their opponents. The visitors capitalized on defensive mistakes while Gala simply missed most of their opportunities.

With four matches remaining before the champion is crowned, Galatasaray will look to bounce back away at Trabzonspor this weeked. During the regular season, Gala were victorious by the score of 3-0 at Trabzon. In the second meeting in Istanbul, the two sides shared the spoils at one goal apiece. Now, with one win and loss apiece, both will look to win their second.

Galatasaray sit two points ahead of Fenerbahce atop the play-off standings and will look to win every remaining game, especially the return match on the final day away to Fenerbahce.

During the regular season, Gala defeated Fener 3-0 at home and drew 2-2 away. In the return match, Fener led 2-0 but Gala scored twice to equalize. In the final seconds, Selcuk Inan’s free kick was volleyed off the cross bar by Milan Baros, just missing the comeback victory. The game on May 12 will make or break their championship hopes if both teams are 1, 2, or three points apart or of course, if they are dead even.

The next four games will define Galatasaray’s character as a team under pressure. After losing 1-2 at home in front of their beloved fans against their arch rivals, they have four games to gain their trust back. Fenerbahce’s players danced in the middle of Gala’s field after the final whistle. The fans calmed the nerve and did nothing. They respected the victors and allowed to celebrate in the heart of their house. The players will look to repay their fans. Galatasaray have four matches to prove that they deserve to be crowned new champions of Turkey.