Beşiktaş–Galatasaray Derby (7 March 2026)

^{Hakem Ozan Ergün ve Tüpraş Stadyumu (AA)}

As part of the 25th week of the Trendyol Süper Lig, Beşiktaş and Galatasaray will face each other on Saturday, 7 March 2026 at the Tüpraş Stadium. The match will be officiated by referee Ozan Ergün. This encounter marks the 360th meeting between the two teams, which have a rivalry spanning nearly a century and have played 359 previous matches against each other.

The first match between Beşiktaş and Galatasaray was played on 22 August 1924 at Taksim Stadium and ended in a 2-0 victory for the black-and-white team. The first goal in this historic rivalry was scored by Refik Osman Top. Galatasaray’s first goal against Beşiktaş came in a 6-2 match on 31 July 1925, scored by Mehmet Leblebi.

^{Beşiktaş-Galatasaray match infographic (AA)}

Throughout the history of the rivalry, the players with the most appearances are Beşiktaş’s Şeref Görkey with 63 matches and Hakkı Yeten with 61 matches. These two also lead in goalscoring, with Hakkı Yeten netting 29 goals and Şeref Görkey 26. On the Galatasaray side, the most prolific scorer is Gündüz Kılıç, who scored 21 goals in 31 appearances. Gündüz Kılıç also holds the record for most goals in a single match in this rivalry, scoring five goals in one match during Galatasaray’s 9-2 victory on 30 June 1940, the highest-scoring match in the history of the derby.

The most attended match in the history of the two teams’ league encounters took place on 22 September 2013 at Atatürk Olympic Stadium, with 76,127 ticketed spectators, all of whom were Beşiktaş fans. However, the match was not completed due to pitch incidents and was officially awarded 3-0 to Galatasaray by the Turkish Football Federation. Beşiktaş’s most decisive victories against their rival have all been 5-0 wins, with the most recent occurring in the 2024 Turkcell Süper Kupa match.

Since the Tüpraş Stadium was renovated and reopened in 2016, the home team Beşiktaş has enjoyed a significant statistical advantage. The two teams have met nine times at this venue since then, with seven victories for the black-and-white side, one for the yellow-and-red side, and one draw.

Beşiktaş have scored in eight of these nine matches, accumulating a total of 16 goals while conceding only six. In four of these matches, Galatasaray failed to score. Galatasaray’s only win at the renovated stadium came in the 2023-2024 season, when Moatasem Al-Musrati scored an own goal to secure a 1-0 victory. The most recent derby played at this stadium in the 2024-2025 season ended in a 2-1 win for Beşiktaş.

^{Sergen Yalçın and Okan Buruk derby infographic (AA)}

The statistics of Beşiktaş head coach Sergen Yalçın and Galatasaray head coach Okan Buruk are noteworthy. Sergen Yalçın has previously coached Beşiktaş against Galatasaray in five Süper Lig matches, achieving two wins, two draws, and one defeat, with his team scoring six goals and conceding five.

Okan Buruk, in contrast, has recorded four wins, one draw, and two defeats against Beşiktaş in Süper Lig matches as Galatasaray’s head coach. His team has scored ten goals and conceded nine in these encounters. When examining all league matches in which the two coaches have faced each other while managing different clubs, Sergen Yalçın’s teams have won four matches, while Okan Buruk’s teams have won two, with three matches ending in draws.

On 7 March 2026, if selected, a total of 21 players will be making their first-ever Beşiktaş-Galatasaray derby appearance.

Twelve players from Beşiktaş’s squad, including Devis Vasquez, Amir Murillo, and Yasin Özcan, and nine players from Galatasaray’s squad, including Yaser Asprilla and Noa Lang, are awaiting their derby debut.

^{Beşiktaş and Galatasaray new transfers (AA)}

In terms of derby experience, the most seasoned player not currently in Beşiktaş’s active squad is Necip Uysal, who has played 17 derbies. Among the current squad, Ersin Destanoğlu has faced Galatasaray in six matches. For Galatasaray, the most experienced player in the current squad is Barış Alper Yılmaz, with eight derby appearances.

Looking at the derby records of the goalkeepers, Beşiktaş’s goalkeeper Ersin Destanoğlu has played six matches against Galatasaray in his career, recording two wins and four defeats, with ten goals conceded. Both of his derby wins occurred at the Tüpraş Stadium. Galatasaray’s goalkeeper Uğurcan Çakır has appeared in 16 official matches against Beşiktaş in his career, mostly while playing for Trabzonspor. The national team goalkeeper has recorded five wins, seven draws, and three defeats in these matches, keeping two clean sheets while conceding a total of 20 goals.

On 7 March 2026, in the 25th week of the Süper Lig, the match between Beşiktaş and Galatasaray at the Tüpraş Stadyumu ended with a 1-0 victory for the visiting team, Galatasaray. The only goal of the match was scored by Galatasaray player Victor Osimhen in the 39th minute. Following this result, Galatasaray, who maintained their lead in the championship race, increased their points to 61, while the home team Beşiktaş remained in fourth place with 46 points. As the team that has defeated Beşiktaş the most times in Süper Lig history and has scored the most goals against Beşiktaş’s goal, Galatasaray secured their second derby win against their rival at the stadium since its renovation in 2016. Additionally, with this match, Galatasaray achieved their 17th victory in their 18th league match in which they scored the opening goal.

Before the match, Galatasaray had won six of their last seven league games and conceded only three goals during this period. Galatasaray’s head coach Okan Buruk took to the pitch as the manager with the highest win percentage among those who have coached at least 15 matches between Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Trabzonspor in the Süper Lig, with a 59% win rate. Buruk also became the third Galatasaray coach to defeat Beşiktaş at least five times, following Fatih Terim and Gündüz Kılıç. Head coach Okan Buruk made four changes to his starting eleven compared to the team’s last league match; team captain Abdülkerim Bardakcı returned to the starting lineup after being rested in the previous two matches, and Roland Sallai, who had been recovering from injury, also returned to the squad.

On the home side, Beşiktaş head coach Sergen Yalçın made four rotational changes from the starting eleven that played in their most recent match against Çaykur Rizespor in the Ziraat Türkiye Kupası. Amir Murillo, Emmanuel Agbadou, Kristjan Asllani, Junior Olaitan and Hyeon-gyu Oh all made their debut in a Galatasaray derby for Beşiktaş.

In their pre-match assessments, Beşiktaş head coach Sergen Yalçın noted that his team had shown an upward trend in form and emphasized that mental and physical condition would be decisive in the match, while also highlighting the absence of two key players, Bilal and Emirhan. Galatasaray head coach Okan Buruk stated that both teams possessed strong squads and that the transitions between attack and defense in midfield, along with ball possession strategies, would determine the course of the game.

The match refereeing team consisted of Ozan Ergün, Anıl Usta and Mustafa Savranlar, with Ömer Faruk Turtay serving as the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). The starting lineups were as follows:

Ersin Destanoğlu, Amir Murillo, Emmanuel Agbadou, Felix Uduokhai, Rıdvan Yılmaz, Wilfred Ndidi, Kristjan Asllani, Orkun Kökçü, Vaclav Cerny, Junior Olaitan, Hyeon-Gyu Oh.

Uğurcan Çakır, Roland Sallai, Davinson Sánchez, Abdülkerim Bardakcı, Ismail Jakobs, Lucas Torreira, Mario Lemina, Leroy Sané, Gabriel Sara, Barış Alper Yılmaz, Victor Osimhen.

The match began with Galatasaray taking the opening kick. The first significant attack occurred in the 5th minute when Victor Osimhen, receiving the ball on a diagonal run into the penalty area, was tackled by goalkeeper Ersin Destanoğlu; Osimhen was then shown a yellow card for a foul on the defender. In the 15th minute, during a Beşiktaş attack, Kristjan Asllani met a pass from Junior Olaitan on the edge of the box but his shot narrowly went out of play. In the 20th minute, Galatasaray’s Barış Alper Yılmaz went down in the penalty area after a challenge with a defender, prompting a penalty appeal; however, goalkeeper Ersin Destanoğlu successfully blocked the follow-up shot from Gabriel Sara.

In the 39th minute, the visiting team Galatasaray took the lead. Following a right-wing attack, Leroy Sane delivered a cross into the penalty area, leaving Victor Osimhen unmarked. Osimhen headed the ball into the net. This goal was Osimhen’s 18th of the 2025-2026 season and his 11th in the league, marking his seventh goal in his last eight league appearances, matching his career record at Napoli. The first half ended with Galatasaray leading 1-0.

The team that started the second half under pressure was the home side Beşiktaş. In the 48th minute, a powerful shot from outside the penalty area by Vaclav Cerny was turned onto the corner flag by goalkeeper Uğurcan Çakır. One of the most critical turning points of the match occurred in the 62nd minute. During a two-on-two challenge between Leroy Sane and Rıdvan Yılmaz in midfield, referee Ozan Ergün allowed play to continue. However, following a prompt from VAR official Ömer Faruk Turtay, he reviewed the incident on the sideline monitor. After review, Ozan Ergün showed Leroy Sane a direct red card, sending him off. This was Leroy Sane’s first red card in his 311-match league career. Additionally, with this card, Galatasaray extended their streak of receiving a red card in four of their last five derbies against Beşiktaş.

After Galatasaray were reduced to ten men, Beşiktaş took complete control of the ball and recorded a total of 24 shots during the match, becoming the team with the most shots against Galatasaray this season. Uğurcan Çakır, who holds the record for the most saves against Beşiktaş in Süper Lig history (67 saves), successfully denied powerful attempts from Beşiktaş’s Orkun Kökçü in the 68th, 71st and 87th minutes. Galatasaray had a clear chance in the 77th minute through Barış Alper Yılmaz, but Beşiktaş goalkeeper Ersin Destanoğlu narrowed the angle to block the shot. In the final stages of the match, both teams made multiple substitutions. Galatasaray’s Abdülkerim Bardakcı, who received a yellow card in the 72nd minute, was suspended as a result, and goalkeeper Uğurcan Çakır was shown a yellow card in the 80th minute for time-wasting. No further goals were scored and Galatasaray left the field as 1-0 winners.

Head coach Okan Buruk stated after the match that his team controlled the game and pressed forward in the first half, and that a missed penalty decision in the 20th minute could have decided the result earlier. Buruk emphasized that his team defended excellently after being reduced to ten men, and noted that the referees’ overall performance did not satisfy either side. He also mentioned that he received a simple yellow card after complaining on the sideline about the referees extending the match too long, which put him in a suspension situation. Okan Buruk further highlighted that goalkeeper Uğurcan Çakır delivered a performance at Premier League level, adding that the transfer fee paid for him in the past was even too low.

The experienced goalkeeper Uğurcan Çakır noted that despite being down to ten men, his team showed character, and that Tüpraş Stadium has always been lucky for him. Çakır also stated that although he had kicked the ball toward the corner flag during an injury stoppage, Beşiktaş players did not return it to his team as fair play required, and he later discussed this incident with Beşiktaş captain Orkun Kökçü after the match. Goal scorer Victor Osimhen and Lucas Torreira said that despite missing key players in a difficult away fixture, this victory reflected the team’s spirit and instilled great confidence ahead of the upcoming match against Liverpool and the title race.

Beşiktaş head coach Sergen Yalçın expressed deep disappointment at losing at home. He stated that his team dominated the second half and created numerous chances, but offered strong criticism of the referee’s management. Yalçın argued that Leroy Sane should have been sent off as early as the 20th minute and that Osimhen should have received a second yellow card for a clear foul. He claimed that rules were applied differently depending on the team, suggesting that football in the country had become highly politicized. Yalçın also added that the process of referee appointments and VAR decisions was unhealthy for Turkish football.

Beşiktaş Vice President Hakan Daltaban delivered harsh remarks after the match, stating he felt ashamed due to the referee’s performance. He accused the VAR system of failing its duty and claimed that obvious rule violations by players were ignored. Daltaban proposed placing students from the Sports Academy in the VAR room on May 19 as a symbolic protest. Beşiktaş players Orkun Kökçü and Ersin Destanoğlu also criticized the referee decisions as unfair, asserting that missed red cards had decided the outcome and that opponents consistently feigned injuries to slow down the game.