The Only Goal Left for Beşiktaş
Beşiktaş, after a 3-1 defeat against Göztepe and elimination from the quarterfinals of the Turkish Cup, now has only one goal ahead: to finish among the top four teams in the Süper Lig and earn a spot in European competitions.
Considering the possibility of the fifth-place team being banned from European participation, Beşiktaş must collect the maximum possible points in the remaining 9 matches to ensure their presence in next season's European competitions and finish the season in third or fourth place.
Strong Objection to the Referee's Judgement
Beşiktaş's victory over Galatasaray just three days ago, which ended the unbeaten streak of this traditional rival, had created great hope among fans for winning a title. However, the red card for Tayyip Talha while Beşiktaş was ahead 1-0, and the decisions of referee Atilla Karaoğlan in the first half, caused a wave of objections.
Karaoğlan had previously made a completely opposite decision in a similar situation in another Beşiktaş match, which led to strong reactions from the management and fans.
The club management strongly objects to the referee’s decisions and believes that they were penalized because of the harsh remarks made by the club president about refereeing before the match against Galatasaray.
The club president, Serdal Adalı, because of those comments, was given a 45-day suspension and a 1.5 million lira fine by the disciplinary committee of the Turkish Football Federation.
Ignoring the Scoring Crisis
Beşiktaş, which had fallen 46 points behind the champion last season, is now also 24 points behind the leader with 9 weeks remaining in the league.
In the past two years, with 7 coaching changes and poor transfer planning, the team entered the competition with debatable quality players and started the season with only one proper striker.
After signing Ciro Immobile from Italy and lacking experienced players in the attack, the responsibility was given to two young players: Semih (20 years old) and Mustafa Hekimoğlu (18 years old).
As a result, the team managed to score only 41 goals in 27 matches. Even though Immobile’s weak performance was clear in the first half of the season, the new management did not take any action to sign a new striker during the winter transfer window.
Immobile scored 11 goals in 23 matches, 6 of which were from penalties. Semih, who mostly came on as a substitute in 26 matches, scored only 4 goals, and Mustafa did not score any goal.
In total, the three Beşiktaş strikers scored only 15 goals in 27 matches. This situation forced head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to use a striker-less formation (4-6-0) in the last two matches.
Remaining Match Schedule
To reach their European goal, Beşiktaş must perform excellently in their remaining 9 matches. 6 out of these 9 matches will be played in Istanbul.
Away matches will be played against Göztepe, Alanyaspor, and Bodrumspor. In Istanbul, the team will face Kasımpaşa and Fenerbahçe away, and Başakşehir, Hatayspor, Adana Demirspor, and Çaykur Rizespor at home.
