Nagatomo shines as Galatasaray keep up the chase on leaders Basaksehir

Galatasaray keep up the chase on capital city neighbours İstanbul Başakşehir with a 3-1 over Keyserispor on Saturday. The win closes the gap on current leaders to 2 points, who face ninth place Caykur Rizespor on Sunday.

The visitors took an early lead when Artem Kravets slotted the ball into an open net with Uruguayan keeper Fernando Muslera being drawn out of position. The advantage proved to be short lived with Mbaye Diagne picking up the rebound from a Fernando long range shot, bringing the score level at 1-1.

A deliberate hand ball saw Keyserispor`s Tiago Lopes earn his second yellow and subsequent red card. After a brief exchange with the off-field assistant, the referee concluded the incident occurred within the penalty and a penalty kick was awarded to the hosts. The Senegalese international stepped up and earned his second of the game, 2-1 Gala.

Gala hammered a further nail into the coffin right before the break, when Brazilian right back Mariano launched a cross to the far side of the box which Japanese international Yuto Nagatomo headed home to claim his first goal of the season.

The second half proved fairly uneventful with the hosts seeing the better of the run of play. The most notable effort was again from Nagatomo who came within inches of adding to his tally with a long-range middle shot narrowly curving wide of the mark.

Diagne missed a chance to earn his hattrick when he sent a shot over the bar from outside the area in the 92nd minute. The game ended 3-1 with the hosts walking away as deserved winners.

With 5 games left to play the Super Lig is set to go right to the wire in a season that may be witness to a first time winner. This could even be decided when the two likely to teams to be in contention face each other on May 19th, with Galatasaray hosting Başakşehir at Turk Telecom Arena.