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Istanbul Basaksehir defeated Gaziantep FK 2-1 in week 8 of the Trendyol Super Lig at Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium. The hosts led early through Eldor Shomurodov, were pegged back by Serdar Dursun in the second half, and won it with a late strike from Umut Gunes.

Head coach Nuri Sahin said the victory was deserved but urged his side to kill games off, while Gaziantep FK assistant coach Cihan Unal praised his team's second-half response despite the defeat.

Shomurodov scores early as hosts dominate

The first chance fell to Gaziantep FK in the 7th minute, when a pass from Kozlowski found Camara on the left side of the box, but goalkeeper Muhammed saved the shot. A minute later Basaksehir went ahead. Shomurodov moved the ball to Umut Bozok at the edge of the area and kept running; Umut's attempted pass toward Olsen struck Camara and rolled back to Shomurodov behind the six-yard box, and the Uzbek forward finished cleanly to make it 1-0.

The home side kept pressing. In the 28th minute a loose ball in the box fell to Olsen on the right, and the shot drifted just wide of the far post. One minute later Basaksehir had the ball in the net again. Olsen crossed from the right, Umut Bozok's header was cleared off the line by goalkeeper Tobiasz, and Brnic forced the rebound home. Referee Alpaslan Sen awarded the goal, then reviewed the play after a VAR alert from Halil Umut Meler and ruled that Umut had handled the ball, cancelling the effort.

In the 42nd minute Olsen delivered another cross from the right and Umut Bozok, with his back to goal in front of the six-yard box, turned and shot, only for Tobiasz to block it. The half ended with Basaksehir leading 1-0.

Gaziantep level before Umut Gunes wins it

Gaziantep FK came out stronger after the break. In the 56th minute Brnic cut in from the left and shot, and Tobiasz stretched to his left to keep the ball out. The equaliser arrived in the 66th minute, when Kozlowski crossed from the left wing and Serdar Dursun won a header against Ba in the six-yard box to score: 1-1.

The visitors nearly turned the game around in the 70th minute. Gassama's long pass released Sorescu down the right channel, and his low ball found Serdar Dursun in front of goal, but the forward's shot hit goalkeeper Muhammed in the face and went out for a corner. Basaksehir struck again in the 81st minute, working the ball with quick passes outside the area before Umut Gunes fired into the net from the left side of the D: 2-1. Yusuf Sarı had a chance to extend the lead two minutes later, driving into the box from the right, but Tobiasz saved his shot. The match finished 2-1 to the orange-navy side.

Sahin: 'We deserved the win'

Basaksehir head coach Nuri Sahin said after the match that his team merited the three points. "We found the goal early and almost completely dominated the first half. The only thing missing was the second goal," Sahin told the post-match news conference. "We have this illness of starting second halves badly this season and it happened again today. We kept Gaziantep in the game for no reason and conceded. But this time it may have been an important turning point for us this season. After 1-1 we reacted well, created chances and scored. Looking at the whole match, I think it was a deserved win, but these games do not always turn around. We needed a much clearer second goal to break the opponent's resistance. Still, it was very important and valuable three points for us."

Sahin declined to go into detail about the tension with Gaziantep FK head coach Orhan Ak after the final whistle. "Whatever happened, happened and stayed there. I never act disrespectfully. I wish Gaziantep FK success. For us it was a very important three points," he said.

Sahin added that the team is not yet at the level he wants but has built some momentum, and looked ahead to next week's trip to Besiktas in week 9. "We will analyse and prepare in the best way, but if we want to win the match we have to be very brave," he said, describing Besiktas as a very difficult opponent with a respected coach, squad, fans and stadium.

Unal: 'We fought well'

Gaziantep FK assistant coach Cihan Unal faced the media after head coach Orhan Ak was shown a red card at the end of the game. Unal said the match was one of the targets on their fixture list and that the team played well, particularly in the second half in defence, attack, pressing and possession. "In football the ball decides your fate. Unfortunately our balls did not go in. Basaksehir had one shot in the second half and scored from it. We congratulate our opponent. Other than that we think we fought well, especially in the second half when we showed how to move as a team," Unal said.

Looking ahead, Unal said a difficult Erzurumspor FK match is next and that the team hopes to prepare well, learn from this game and win at home. He played down the incident at the end of the match, saying a remark and gesture from Sahin's assistant toward Ak briefly raised tensions. "Tensions can rise in football. I think these are natural things that happen at the end of matches. Football is the business of ambitious people," he said.

Key takeaways

• Shomurodov opened the scoring in the 8th minute and Basaksehir led 1-0 at half-time.
• A Basaksehir goal was ruled out in the 29th minute for a handball by Umut Bozok after VAR review.
• Serdar Dursun headed the equaliser in the 66th minute before Umut Gunes struck the winner in the 81st.
• Gaziantep FK head coach Orhan Ak was sent off after the match; assistant Cihan Unal took the news conference.