Galatasaray 3-1 Kasımpaşa: Bardakci and Lemina Deliver from Dead Balls as Late Double Breaks Resistance

Galatasaray beat Kasımpaşa 3-1 at RAMS Park, but the scoreline only tells part of the story. Two of the three goals arrived from dead-ball situations, and the decisive third came in stoppage time after Kasımpaşa had briefly threatened to steal a point they never deserved.

The hosts finished with 63% possession, 25 shots to 9, and 11 on target to 3. Their expected goals tally of 2.40 against 0.51 reflects a match in which they created the better chances throughout, even if the finishing was not always clinical. Kasımpaşa's goal, when it came, was against the run of play and briefly changed the mood inside RAMS Park.

Galatasaray's set-piece threat was the defining feature of their performance. They generated 1.17 xG from set plays alone, nearly matching their open-play output of 1.23. Abdülkerim Bardakci's header on the stroke of half-time, assisted by Aleksey Batrakov, was the first dividend. It was a goal of pure routine: a delivery into the box, a centre-back attacking it, and a goalkeeper beaten by placement rather than power.

That pattern repeated itself in the second half. Mario Lemina's stoppage-time goal, assisted by Victor Osimhen, came from a set-piece situation that Kasımpaşa failed to clear. By then, the visitors had already been stretched by 49 Galatasaray touches in their box compared to just 6 at the other end. The disparity in territory was overwhelming.

Kasımpaşa's equaliser on 68 minutes was a shock to the system. Jesurun Rak-Sakyi finished from a corner with his left foot, a goal worth 0.155 xG and one that briefly silenced the home crowd. It was their only shot on target of the second half until late on, and it came from a set piece of their own — a reminder that Galatasaray's dominance did not extend to defending every dead ball.

For a period after that, the game became scrappier. Kasımpaşa committed 15 fouls and collected four yellow cards, disrupting Galatasaray's rhythm. The hosts' passing accuracy dropped from 84% in the first half to 85% in the second, but their control of the ball never truly wavered. They still completed 157 passes in the opposition half after the break.

The introduction of fresh legs helped. Barış Alper Yılmaz, who had been a constant threat, finally got his goal in the 90th minute with a left-footed finish from open play. It was a goal that had been coming: he had been involved throughout, and his 0.14 xG for the match understates his influence on the game's tempo.

Galatasaray's ability to win from set pieces is not a new trait, but the manner of this victory — a late double after being pegged back — speaks to their resilience. They had five big chances to Kasımpaşa's two, and they took the decisive ones when it mattered. The three points keep them on track, but the performance will raise questions about why a team with such territorial dominance needed until stoppage time to secure the win.

For Kasımpaşa, the defeat is a familiar story: a disciplined defensive effort undone by lapses at set pieces. They won 46 duels to Galatasaray's 51, and their 73% pass accuracy was respectable under pressure, but they offered almost nothing in the final third. Six touches in the box across 90 minutes is not a platform for an away result at RAMS Park.

Galatasaray move on with the win. Kasımpaşa leave with the knowledge that they competed for long stretches but were ultimately undone by the kind of dead-ball quality that separates the top sides from the rest.

FotMob, Goal.