In the first match of the season, Konyaspor met with Galatasaray at Ali Sami Yen. Abdelzaher El Saka made his league debut for Konya but they couldn't get any points.

El Saka's league debut: away to Galatasaray...

Galatasaray supporters had protested to their board. The match had added important because of this. Gala supporters showed interest in their former player Batista who was on the opposing side.

Konyaspor's new transfer El Saka's mistake early in the game caused a goal for Galatasaray. However El Saka showed he will be the indispensable defender of his new team. He fought against tall Galatasaray forward players very well. Also he couldn't play alongside Konyaspor's other new transfer, Ümit Bozkurt, his partner at the back for a long time.

Because of an early goal Konyaspor changed their tactics and made very dangerous attacks on the hosts' goal. Galatasaray aimed only to defend during some parts of the match.

Again, early in the second half, Gala's new transfer Ilic scored his second.

Konyaspor gave their answer at 61 minutes but couldn't score another and lost the match 2-1.

Match Highlights:

3rd min. Galatasaray started the match very fast and Hasan Sas crossed into the area. Iliç finished with a nice header.

8th min. Konyaspor's former top goalscorer Zafer Biryol's header missed the goal by a small distance.

24th min. Former Konyaspor midfielder Altan hit a free-kick in. Hakan Sukur missed.

29th min. Biryol's strike with hit the Gala defenders and caused a corner.

The first half ended 1-0 with Galatasaray in the lead.

51st min. Ilic scored his second in the penalty area, hitting the ball low past the keeper.

61st min. Murat Hacioglu crossed from the left. Song used his hand inside the box. Levent scored the penalty.

The rest of the match saw Konyaspor try to tie the score but full time ended with a 2-1 Galatasaray lead.

Konyaspor lost but there were lots of injured and banned players. Despite the loss they were disciplined and played well. Konyaspor also missed several good chances in the match. With new transfers and one of the best Turkish managers Aykut Kocaman, Konyaspor and El Saka can climb up the table. Konyaspor will be a team fighting for a UEFA place and El Saka will be this team's indispensable defender who inspires the team confidence.

Ratings:

Galatasaray: Mondragon xx, Cihan xx, Tomas xxx, Song xxx, Orhan Ak xx, Hasan Sas xxx, Saidou xx, Iliç xxx (Volkan min. 86 x), Altan xx, Necati xx (Ümit Karan min. 74 x), Hakan Sükür xx (Hasan Kabze min. 81 xx)

Konyaspor: Özden xx, Yasin xx, El Saka xx, Ömer xxx, Erhan Albayrak xx, Zafer Demir xx (Eray min. 65 x), Batista xx, Murat Hacioglu xx, Levent xx, Zafer Biryol xx, Tayfun xx (Volkan min. 76 x)

Match Details:

Stadium: Ali Sami Yen

Referees: Cem Papila xxx, Ekrem Kan xxx, Ufuk Sepik xxx

Goals: Iliç (min. 3 and 51), Levent (min. 61 pen)

Yellow cards: Orhan Ak (Galatasaray), Zafer Demir (Konyaspor)

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