Galatasaray beat Kocaelispor 1-0 at home. Abdülkerim Bardakcı's 71st-minute strike from outside the box secured the win at RAMS Park.
The first half ended goalless despite chances. In the 15th minute, Gabriel Sara's shot hit Deniz Gül's hand, leading to a Rafael Leao goal that was disallowed for handball after VAR review. Leao also saw a shot saved by Serhat Öztaşdelen in first-half stoppage time.
In the 71st minute, Batrakov played a pass to Bardakcı, who fired from the edge of the box past goalkeeper Serhat Öztaşdelen to make it 1-0. This was Bardakcı's first league goal of the season.
Head coach Okan Buruk made three changes from the side that lost to Sporting CP in the Champions League: Jakobs, Sane and Batrakov were replaced by Leao, Bardakcı and Deniz Gül in the starting XI. Both Leao and Deniz Gül made their first league starts of the season.
The victory took Galatasaray to 13 points, maintaining their position at the top of the Süper Lig table. Kocaelispor remain on nine points after their second defeat of the campaign.n Before kick-off, Galatasaray honoured the late Metin Oktay, known as 'Taçsız Kral', on the 35th anniversary of his death. Fans displayed banners reading 'Taçsız Kral Tek Aşkıydı Galatasaray' and 'Senin Gibi Cimbomluyu Unutur Mu Bu Taraftar'. The pre-match ceremony was held early, prompting players to wait two minutes before the referee, Atilla Karaoğlan, started the game one minute ahead of schedule at 19:59.
Berkan Kutlu, who left Galatasaray in 2025 after four years at the club, made his first appearance for Kocaelispor at RAMS Park.
Galatasaray's recent form stands at 4W-0D-1L (WLWWW) from their last five matches, with 12 goals scored and six conceded. They sit second in the league on ten points from four games, two behind leaders Beşiktaş.
Their next fixture is a home match against Rizespor on 6 December 2026, with Rizespor currently fourth in the table. Supporters can check the upcoming schedule on our fixtures page.
