Galatasaray secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Kocaelispor on Sunday to move to the top of the Turkish Süper Lig table.
The Turkish champions entered the encounter at Rams Park looking to bounce back from their midweek Champions League defeat to Sporting CP in Portugal.
Galatasaray dominated possession and created several opportunities in the opening half, but they were unable to break through Kocaelispor’s defence.
The hosts thought they had taken the lead inside 12 minutes when Deniz Gül headed the ball into the net following Lucas Torreira’s long-range effort.
However, the goal was disallowed after the referee ruled that a foul had been committed on goalkeeper Serhat Oztasdelen.
Galatasaray continued to press after the restart and eventually found the breakthrough in the 70th minute.
Defender Abdülkerim Bardakci struck a powerful effort from about 30 metres, beating Oztasdelen to put the hosts 1-0 ahead.
Kocaelispor could not find a response as Galatasaray controlled proceedings for the remainder of the game to claim their fourth league win of the season.
The result moved Galatasaray to 10 points from four matches and above Besiktas at the summit, while Kocaelispor were left to rue a frustrating evening in Istanbul.
