Galatasaray Edge Gençlerbirliği 1-0 as Eğribayat Own Goal Settles It Late

Galatasaray took all three points from Eryaman Stadyumu with a 1-0 win over Gençlerbirliği, but the decisive moment was not one of their 18 shots. It was an 88th-minute own goal from İrfan Eğribayat that separated the sides in a Super Lig match where the hosts fired 19 attempts to the visitors' 18.

Galatasaray finished with 69% possession and 460 accurate passes at 87%, against Gençlerbirliği's 146 at 63%. They completed 246 passes in the opposition half to the hosts' 90. On the ball, it was one-way traffic.

Off the ball, it was not. Gençlerbirliği out-shot Galatasaray 19-18 and put six shots on target to Galatasaray's four. They won 47 duels to 38 and earned nine corners to ten. The hosts also created two big chances to Galatasaray's one. For a side with 31% of the ball, Bernd Storck's team generated more than enough to take something from the game.

The expected goals tell a similar story. Galatasaray edged the overall count 1.81 to 1.16, but the split by phase is more revealing. Galatasaray's open-play xG was 1.69 to Gençlerbirliği's 0.70. Gençlerbirliği's set-play xG was 0.46 to Galatasaray's 0.11. The hosts' threat came largely from dead balls and second phases; Galatasaray's came from structured possession.

Galatasaray's first-half xG of 1.27 suggested a goal was coming. It did not arrive before the break. Gençlerbirliği, in a 4-1-4-1, sat in and looked to spring forward; Galatasaray, in a 4-2-3-1, circulated the ball and probed. The visitors had 65% of the ball in the first half and 13 touches in the box to Gençlerbirliği's 11, but only two shots on target to show for it.

The second half was more even in chance quality. Galatasaray's xG dropped to 0.54 after the break; Gençlerbirliği's was 0.51. The hosts had nine shots to Galatasaray's ten, and both sides managed three shots on target. The game looked headed for a stalemate.

Then, in the 88th minute, İrfan Eğribayat turned a Galatasaray attack into his own net. The goal was credited as an own goal, regular play, no assist. It was Galatasaray's only big chance of the match. They took it, via the defender.

Galatasaray leave with the win and the xG edge, but the performance was not dominant in the ways that matter most. They had 32 touches in the box to Gençlerbirliği's 20 and 10 corners to nine, yet they managed only four shots on target. Leroy Sané led the visitors with 0.87 xG; Victor Osimhen added 0.45. Neither scored. Tiago Gouveia had 0.32 xG for Gençlerbirliği; Aleksey Batrakov had 0.14. Neither scored either.

The difference was an own goal in the 88th minute. Gençlerbirliği, under new head coach Bernd Storck, will look at the shot count, the duels won, and the two big chances and wonder how they got nothing. Galatasaray will look at the possession, the open-play xG, and the three points and take it.