Galatasaray manage slight edge as Turkish league's 1st half ends

By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp

ANKARA (AA) - The first half of the 2022-23 season of the Turkish Super Lig ended on Sunday with the 19th week's games.

Galatasaray, which lead the standings with 42 points, relied on good away performances, leading the league in that category with seven victories on the road.

The Lions' rivals Fenerbahce, the runners-up with 38 points, suffered disappointing derby results in the first half of the season. The Yellow Canaries drew goalless against Besiktas and lost to Galatasaray and Trabzonspor in the vital games.

Another Istanbul club, Besiktas lay in fifth place with 32 points after switching managers mid-season. Parting ways with head coach Valerien Ismael over poor results, the Black Eagles appointed ex-manager Senol Gunes in October 2022.

Reigning champions Trabzonspor also appeared far off the performance they need to contend for another title this year. The Black Sea Storms suffered from a series of unexpected losses, including to Antalyaspor and Fatih Karagumruk.

Fenerbahce and Medipol Basaksehir both performed well at home, with each winning seven home games.

The first half's top-scoring team was Fenerbahce with 44 goals, while Galatasaray was the best-defending team as they only conceded 13 goals.

Hatayspor has been the least-scoring team with 15 goals. The most-conceding club was Fatih Karagumruk with 37.

Putting 15 in the net, Fenerbahce's Ecuadorian attacker Enner Valencia was the current top scorer in the past 19 weeks. Fatih Karagumruk's Fabio Borini and Mbaye Diagne, along with Antalyaspor's Haji Amir Wright, all shared second on the list with 10 goals each.

The second half of the Turkish Super Lig season will begin with the Adana Demirspor - Giresunspor game on Friday.