Başakşehir 5-2 Samsunspor: Second-Half Surge Turns Seven-Goal Thriller Into a Statement

Başakşehir turned a one-goal half-time lead into a 5-2 rout of Samsunspor at the Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadyumu, scoring three times after the break and finishing the match with 4.21 expected goals to Samsunspor's 1.04. The hosts led 3-1 at the interval, but it was the second-half performance — 3.03 xG to 0.14, 17 shots to four — that turned a competitive fixture into a statement win.

Samsunspor set up in a 3-5-2, three centre-backs and five across midfield, looking to squeeze space in front of their box and spring forward through Mohamed Bayo and Tanguy Coulibaly. For 45 minutes it half-worked: Başakşehir had 67 percent of the ball but only 1.18 xG to show for it, and Samsunspor's 0.90 xG kept them within touching distance.

Başakşehir's 4-2-3-1 probed without consistently breaking the block. Andreas Skov Olsen, Eldor Shomurodov and Emin Bayram all struggled for clean touches in congested areas — Skov Olsen completed just 70 percent of his passes on 41 touches, Bayram 85.2 percent on 81, and Ousseynou Ba was dispossessed once despite a 97.5 percent passing accuracy on 91 touches. The block was doing its job.

What undid Samsunspor was the set piece. Jakub Kałuziński delivered two corners that produced goals — Emin Bayram's header in the 41st minute and Ousseynou Ba's in the 75th — and a third corner in the 90th minute led to Abbosbek Fayzullayev's close-range finish. Başakşehir finished with 2.04 xG from set plays to Samsunspor's 0.03. That is where the game was won.

Başakşehir were ahead inside 10 minutes. Ivan Brnić found Eldor Shomurodov, and the striker finished right-footed from a chance worth 0.55 xG. It was the earliest of nine big chances the hosts created; Samsunspor managed one all afternoon.

Samsunspor responded well. In the 22nd minute, Mohamed Bayo teed up Tanguy Coulibaly, who finished left-footed from 0.76 xG — the best chance the visitors created all match. For six minutes, the game was level and the away side's 3-5-2 looked like it might frustrate the hosts into a scrap.

Then Skov Olsen intervened. Saba Kharebashvili assisted the Dane's 26th-minute goal, and Başakşehir were back in front for good. Skov Olsen finished with a goal, a rating of 8.14 and a constant menace despite the tight spaces — his 41 touches were among the lowest of the attacking starters, but his end product was decisive.

Başakşehir's second-half xG of 3.03 was 1.85 higher than their first-half figure, and the shot count told the same story: 17 to four after the break, with 20 box touches to Samsunspor's eight. The visitors' 3-5-2 became a 3-5-2 chasing shadows as Başakşehir's midfield, anchored by Kałuziński's set-piece delivery, kept turning the screw.

Ousseynou Ba's 75th-minute header from another Kałuziński corner made it 4-1 and effectively ended the contest. Elayis Tavşan pulled one back for Samsunspor in the 84th minute, finishing left-footed from a Kouadou Assoumou assist, but the chance was worth just 0.02 xG — a consolation against the run of play.

Abbosbek Fayzullayev's 90th-minute goal, from a third Kałuziński corner and a chance worth 0.95 xG, restored the three-goal margin and put the seal on a performance that grew stronger as the match wore on. Başakşehir finished with 24 shots to nine, 10 on target to four, and 28 box touches to 16. The scoreline and the underlying numbers agreed: this was a comprehensive win, built on patience against a low block and ruthlessness from dead balls.

Samsunspor's 3-5-2 kept them in the game for an hour, but once Başakşehir's set-piece delivery found its range, there was no way back. The visitors took two yellow cards and committed 14 fouls to Başakşehir's 12, but the decisive damage came from corners, not open play. Başakşehir's 2.17 open-play xG was healthy; their 2.04 set-play xG was the difference between a narrow win and a rout.

This article was updated on Nov. 4, 2026. The first version's headline called this a four-goal game; there were seven goals.