Galatasaray shutouts Gaziantep FK to rise in standings

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Galatasaray moved up in the standings in Turkish top-tier Super Lig with a shutout victory Saturday in an away match against Gaziantep FK.

Galatasaray took the lead in minute 21 as Turkish midfielder Omer Bayram scored from outside the penalty box.

Near the end of the first half, Galatasaray doubled the lead with a tap by Algerian winger Sofiane Feghouli's to beat goalkeeper Gunay Guvenc for the 2-0 victory.

Feghouli was assisted by a cross by Turkish left back Emre Tasdemir.

The Istanbul club was under fire going into the match after Wednesday's devastating 6-0 loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League. The loss in Madrid ended Galatasaray's hopes in the tournament.

But the win Saturday boosted morale of the Lions, who has a miserable Champions League tournament.

Galatasaray is currently in the fourth spot with 19 points in the Super Lig. Sivasspor is at the top with 21 points in 11 matches.

The season has seen the Lions regularly slammed for their poor performances in away matches as the team has not been influential away from home.

The team's last away league win was a 3-2 win against Kayserispor on Aug. 30.

Since then, Galatasaray drew against Yeni Malatyaspor 1-1, Genclerbirligi 0-0 and lost the Istanbul derby against Besiktas 1-0 away.

- Sunday's fixtures:

Goztepe - BtcTurk Yeni Malatyaspor at 1100GMT

Trabzonspor - Aytemiz Alanyaspor at 1330GMT

Besiktas - Yukatel Denizlispor at 1600GMT

Medipol Basaksehir - MKE Ankaragucu at 1600GMT