Football club Beşiktaş have been crowned champions of Turkey’s Süper Lig for the fifteenth time in their history. They clinched the title at the penultimate game of the season, beating relegated Gaziantepspor 4.0 away from home, with goals from Ryan Babel (6), Oğuzhan Özyakup (40 & 66) and Anderson Talisca (76 minute).
On Saturday, their closest rivals Medipol Başakşehir had beaten another relegated side Adanaspor 2-1 to keep the pressure on the leaders. But the Black Eagle came soaring through on Sunday securing maximum points to put the club on 74 points, out of reach of the runners-up on 70 points, with just a game to go next weekend. Trailing in third place is Fenerbahçe on 61 points, followed by Galatasaray on 58.
Traditionally one of the country’s strongest sides, expectations were high for Beşiktaş manager Şenol Güneş to repeat his winning ways this season. He responded by guiding his team to a spectacular back-to-back title wins, coasting to victory in front of 30,000 spectators at Gaziantepspor. The achievement was highlighted after the game by star player and former Arsenal midfielder Özyakup, who said:
“We are probably not aware but to become champions two years on the trot is a really difficult thing. After becoming champions last year, we knew this season would be really tough, and it was.”
He added, “I want to also congratulate Başakşehir. We left Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe far behind, but Başakşehir didn’t let us out of their sights. It was a great contest between the two of us.”
