Istanbul Basaksehir prepared for Thursday night’s Europa Conference Leagu e Group A opener against Hearts by going top of the league.
And they ran out 2-0 winners shortly after Robbie Neilson ’s team had gone down 1-0 at Livingston, Emre Belozoglu’s men hosted their Turkish Super Lig rivals Alanyaspor at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium. They knew beforehand that victory would see them leapfrog city rivals Besiktas - who play tomorrow - and return to the summit ahead of their trip to the Scottish capital next week.
The hosts broke the deadlock after 27 minutes. Great play by Mounir Chouiar on the angle of the box was key. The Frenchman threw in several stepovers to wrongfoot his man and get a shot in on goal. Runar Runarsson got down well to save, but couldn’t divert the ball away from danger. Serdar Gurler took full advantage, pouncing on the rebound to fire Basaksehir ahead from close range.
