Galatasaray swept aside Erzurum BB 4-0 in the Turkish Super League's second round on Thursday evening at the Kazım Karabekir Stadium. The visitors opened their campaign with a statement performance, leaving the hosts with nothing to show for their efforts.
And here's the thing about R. Sallai's opener in the twelfth minute — it set the tone for what followed. By then, the visitors had already cut Erzurum open at will. Y. Akgun doubled the advantage in the twentieth, and I remember that moment clearly because it showed how quickly the game settled into Galatasaray's rhythm.
V. Osimhen added a second just before the break, capitalising on a chance the hosts failed to clear. The striker completed his brace in the seventy-ninth minute, proving the result was never in doubt after that early start.
G. Kerk came on for Erzurum in the fifty-fifth minute, attempting to change the tempo. The hosts made seven substitutions in total, but none could shift the momentum. Nariman Akhundzade received a yellow card in the eighty-first minute for a late challenge.
To be fair, the statistics tell only part of the story. Galatasaray created four big chances compared to zero for the hosts, while their expected goals of 3.08 reflected the quality of opportunities they generated. The visitors won possession in their own half 312 times, maintaining control throughout.
By then, Galatasaray sat top of the table with seven points from three matches, while Erzurum remained rooted to seventeenth place with just one point. The gap between them widened, and the hosts paid for a sloppy opening that cost them any chance of a positive result.