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Super Lig Weekly: Vlahovic nets hat-trick as Osimhen stars again, Fatih Tekke exits Trabzon

Vlahovic scored a hat-trick in his first Super Lig start
Vlahovic scored a hat-trick in his first Super Lig startSeskimphoto / Newspix.pl / Profimedia / Flashscore

Dusan Vlahovic got his Super Lig career off and running with a scintillating display in a stunning Besiktas win, while fellow title challengers Galatasaray and Fenerbahce also picked up three points. Meanwhile, Trabzonspor's recent woes continued, which saw manager Fatih Tekke vacate his post.

Four-time defending champions Galatasaray were in action on Saturday evening, with a difficult task at home to Goztepe. It was very much the same team as usual, with new signings Aleksey Batrakov and Lesley Ugochukwu on the bench.

After initially going 1-0 down early on in the game, Galatasaray mounted a comeback to win 3-2, holding off a late charge from Goztepe to secure the three points.

It was a much better performance from the champions compared to the last few weeks, but yet again, it was Victor Osimhen who stole the show.

The Nigerian registered a goal and an assist, and was simply unplayable all game. His assist for Gabriel Sara's goal was a wonderful back heel, and he has started the campaign in vintage form.

He looks hungrier than ever to guide Galatasaray to a record-breaking fifth straight Super Lig title, with five goals and two assists in his opening three games.

Playmaker Batrakov was very good when he came on at half time, and they are also set to add Porto striker Deniz Gul and Leipzig's talented centre back El Chadaille Bitshiabu to their team. 

Of course, they also completed the stellar signing of Rafa Leao from AC Milan for a reported €45 million, so the squad is looking far stronger.

Before the first game of the season, there was a lot of negativity around Galatasaray and their market dealings - rightly or wrongly. With the transfer window closing soon, things look far more positive, especially with the form of Osimhen. 

Fenerbahce faced a tricky test themselves, as they headed to Samsunspor on Sunday. They were coming off the back of a truly excellent European performance away at Lyon, winning 2-1 to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2008.

And they put in another really solid performance, claiming a comfortable 2-0 victory.

Vedat Muriqi - who has netted in his last three games - and Oguz Aydin were the goalscorers, with the latter putting in a particularly impressive performance. He is a very underrated player and could be a valuable part of the team going forward on the left wing.

After a defeat in the first game of the season, Fenerbahce have rebounded terrifically and are playing considerably better.

However, they do seem a little short in certain areas, namely central defence and midfield. It isn't clear if they are going to bring in more players, but they could really do with some strength in depth when battling on multiple fronts. The team could get stretched come 2027.

Vlahovic hits hat-trick

Besiktas put in a devastating performance on Monday evening, clinching a crushing 6-2 win over newly promoted Corum, as former Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic bagged a hat-trick in his first league start.

It was a clinical performance from the big Serb, opening his account in Besiktas colours. The other goals were scored by Vaclav Cerny, Ilhan Fakili and Michael Murillo, while Leandro Trossard delivered his best performance since signing from Arsenal.

Cerny had been linked with a move away, but after a really strong start to the season, they have decided to keep him.

Besiktas have looked really organised and well coached under Vincenzo Italiano, but were struggling in the final third. Four of their first six victories of the season were by a 1-0 scoreline, and they have just suffered consecutive 1-0 defeats to Alanyaspor and Kauno Zalgiris.

But with Vlahovic and Trossard now settling, and Ernest Poku and Fabio Miretti coming in through the door, they will be hoping that those issues have been put to bed.

That will surely be tested this weekend against Fenerbahce.

Fatih Tekke leaves Trabzonspor

Despite the meteoric signing of Mohamed Salah at Trabzonspor, things have been going really pear-shaped at the club.

Even though the Egyptian King scoreed to give them a lead inside the opening 11 minutes against Amedspor, Trabzon suffered a shock last-gasp 2-1 defeat courtesy of Gift Orban, just a few days after a humiliating 4-0 defeat at Ferencvaros in their Europa League qualifier.

Following that loss in the middle of the week, manager Fatih Tekke handed in his resignation, but Trabzon turned it down. Yet, on Tuesday, the club confirmed that he had now left his role.

Fatih Tekke is a very good coach, and it is important to remember what a superb job he did. He took a struggling Trabzon team into a title race, won the Turkish Cup, finished third, developed some young players, and sold them for big profits.

But clearly, there have been some problems behind the scenes in recent weeks. He has cut a frustrated figure in press conferences, and perhaps he hasn't been happy with Trabzon's drastic change in policy, going from finding gems to buying big marquee names, like Salah and Fabinho.

Once he made the mistake of letting his emotions get the better of him after the defeat to Ferencvaros, he was a lame duck. He undermined his own authority, and it was inevitable he had to leave.

It is a bit of a shambles and a shame overall, and it'll be interesting to see where Trabzon turn next. Surely Salah can't be happy with how events are unfolding...

Super Lig table
Super Lig tableFlashscore

Team of the Week

Team of the Week
Team of the WeekFlashscore

Vlahovic is the Flashscore Player of the Week, according to our very own internal ratings system, after his three goals against Corum.

He is joined by Galatasaray trio Osimhen, Yunus Akgun and Davinson Sanchez, while Trossard and Oguz also find a spot in the starting XI.

Follow the Turkish Super Lig with Flashscore

Tolga Akdeniz is a global senior editor for Flashscore, specialising in football, basketball and tennis. Our resident Turkish football expert, he can often be found devouring the Super Lig. Tolga lives in London - you can follow him on X and YouTube, and read his latest features right here.

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