Two goals inside 30 minutes put Galatasaray clear of Konyaspor

Galatasaray won 4-0 at Konyaspor after scoring twice before half time, taking fewer shots than usual but better chances.

Galatasaray were ahead inside twelve minutes, when V. Osimhen finished a move started by Gabriel Sara, and Y. Akgun doubled the lead before the half hour. Konyaspor trailed by two at the break, and a goal early in the second half, followed by Rafael Leão's penalty in the fifty-fifth minute, settled the match long before the end.

Galatasaray had 53% of the ball, which is well below the 60.7% they average in away games this season. Ball possession is the share of time a side keeps the ball, and on its own it can suggest a side that was not in charge. Their shooting tells a different story. They took fourteen shots, fewer than their usual twenty-one or so, but twelve came from inside the box and eight were on target.

Expected goals, a measure that gives each shot a value based on where and how it was taken, puts that attack at 2.52 for the match. That is higher than their usual figure away from home, which sits at 2.05. So Galatasaray took fewer chances than they normally create, but the ones they took were better, and they used them.

Konyaspor had 47% of the ball, close to the 49.1% they average at home, and their shot quality was also a little above their usual level. Their expected goals reached 1.19, against an average of 0.91 in home games. The difference was in finishing and defending. They managed only seven shots, well short of their usual total, and they conceded four goals where a home side in their recent matches has usually conceded one.

Galatasaray's goals came from clear, direct moves. Batrakov scored and assisted once, Sara supplied two assists and created five chances for team-mates, and Leão's penalty was his fourth shot of the match. Deniz Ertaş made three saves for Konyaspor before leaving the pitch in the forty-first minute, and Uğurcan Çakır made two saves for Galatasaray. Batrakov's display earned an 8.7 rating, the highest in the match.

Galatasaray sit first in the table with 22 points from nine matches. Konyaspor are 14th on 8 points from the same number of games. For Konyaspor the result leaves them with a heavy goal difference to recover, while Galatasaray's record away from home reads seven wins from nine.

Player of the matchAleksey Batrakov1 goal · 1 assist8.7

Yunus Akgün1 goal8.2

Rafael Leão1 goal8.0

Gabriel Sara2 assists7.7