Besiktas whip Goztepe 5-1 in Super Lig

ANKARA

Turkish Spor Toto Super Lig title contenders Besiktas trounced underdogs Goztepe 5-1 Saturday evening in a home match at Vodafone Park.

Besiktas bagged three points even though several team regulars weren't on the pitch.

Besiktas' Portuguese winger Ricardo Quaresma, Turkish midfielder Oguzhan Ozyakup and Canadian midfielder Atiba Hutchinson missed the match as they were suspended.

In addition, Turkish right back Gokhan Gonul was among the substitutes as he missed his team's training sessions on weekdays due to an injury.

Scorers for Besiktas included Brazilian attacking midfielder Anderson Talisca, Chilean midfielder Gary Medel, Serbian central defender Dusko Tosic, Canadian striker Cyle Larin and Dutch forward Ryan Babel.

Visiting team Goztepe's single goal was scored by Turkish midfielder Halil Akbunar.

The victory against Goztepe allowed the Black Eagles to remain in the Super Lig title race with 56 points, trailing Istanbul club Medipol Basaksehir, with 59 points.

On Friday evening, Medipol Basaksehir beat Yeni Malatya 1-0, retaking the top spot.

Fans at Istanbul's Fatih Terim Stadium witnessed only one goal, which came in the 18th minute of the first half when Dutch winger Eljero Elia easily completed his teammate Edin Visca's pass inside the six-yard box.

Galatasaray will try to recapture the lead when they face Genclerbirligi on Monday in the capital Ankara.

They are currently in second place in the league table with 57 points.

- Saturday's results:

Kardemir Karabukspor - Antalyaspor: 1-2

Trabzonspor - Kayserispor: 4-0

Besiktas - Goztepe: 5-1

- Sunday's and Monday's fixtures:

Konyaspor - Sivasspor: 1.30 p.m. (GMT1030)

Bursaspor - Kasimpasa: 4 p.m. (GMT1300)

Alanyaspor - Akhisarspor: 4 p.m. (GMT1300)

Fenerbahce - Osmanlispor: 7 p.m. (GMT1600)

- Monday:

Genclerbirligi - Galatasaray: 8 p.m. (GMT1700)