ISTANBUL
Week 23 action in the pits of the Turkish Süper Lig Galatasaray against Trabzonspor on January 23, with both sides needing a win, but for very different reasons.
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Away team Trabzonspor lead the league nine points ahead of their closest rival, sitting in a comfortable spot to challenge for their first league title in almost 30 years.
However, supporters are concerned that the Black Sea team is experiencing a drop in performance, with the team tied in three of their last four games.
A 1-1 draw at home to Giresunspor was their second successive draw, and the club desperately need a win in Istanbul to convince their fans that the league trophy is yet to be lost.
“Football it's a game of probabilities, and that was in our destiny,” Trabzonspor assistant coach Orhan Ak said after the match against Giresunspor.
Ak was in charge of the team as coach Abdullah Avcı was serving a suspension after being sent off in a 1-2 draw at Sivasspor on January 15 following an argument with the referee.
“We are sad about the two points we lost here, but the positive is that our team played very well in the second half,” added Ak.
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"It seems that we are in a good position in the league, but we have to work harder."
Galatasaray, meanwhile, is experiencing one of its worst league performances and the change of guard has not yet had a positive impact on the team.
The 3-1 loss at home to Kasımpaşa on 20 January was the Istanbul club's third consecutive league loss, and the second under manager Domenec Torrent, who replaced club legend Fatih Terim last week.
Having seen just one win in the last 11 league games, supporters now blame the club's administration and president Burak Elmas.
Spectators at the Kasımpaşa game took off their masks with Elmas's face on them, singing songs asking him to resign.
Torrent blamed "mental problems" for the two defeats under his tenure.
"Everyone talks about physical conditions in case of a change of coach, but that is not the most important thing," said the Spanish coach, who worked as Pep Guardiola's assistant from 2007 to 2018, after Kasımpaşa's defeat.
"The important thing is that the players put mental blocks in front of them," added Torrent. “We have quality players, but they are inexperienced in dealing with these mental issues. It's important to be able to withstand the pressure."
The coach urged his players to show their "true power".
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"It was very important to win today, but we failed," said Torrent. “We must try to win the next match no matter what. With the player problems we have, we have to convince them that they are better than they are now, they can and should perform better, because they play for Galatasaray. They have a great responsibility towards these fans.”
Elsewhere in Süper Lig Week 23 games, Malatyaspor hosts Beşiktaş, Adana Demirspor plays Karagümrük at home, Fenerbahçe visits Sivasspor and Göztepe travels to Başakşehir on January 2. 22
on January 23, Hatayspor meets Rizespor at home, Kasımpaşa entertains Kayserispor, Konyaspor visits Altay, Gaziantep travels to Antalyaspor and Alanyaspor visits Giresunspor.
