The Lions secured their 3rd title in the last 5 seasons. This was a special one as they were 8 points behind Basaksehir after 20th fixtures. During those days, coach Fatih Terim, who has clinched his 8th title in Galatasaray, said “We know who we are. So we can do it”. His words motivated his players extremely well and they made their fans celebrate the title before the last fixture.
In fact, the 2018/19 season did not start well for them as they lost the Super Cup against Akhisar. After that, they have lost many points in the Super League. Of course, the busy schedule, including the CL group fixtures, had an important effect on that, but the biggest reason was Gomis's sale to Al-Hilal Riyad early on in the season. After that, they really struggled with Eren Derdiyok and Mugdat Celik up-front.
Following the city derby against Fenerbahce, they were unable to use Ndiaye & Donk for a while besides the injuries of Emre Akbaba & Belhanda. During the winter break, they added Mbaye Diagne and Mitroglou. The latter did not meet the expectations, but Diagne did well and scored plenty of goals. After they sold Ozan Kabak and parted the company with Maicon, they added Luyindama & Marcao to the center back. The duo’s satisfactory performances enabled them to concede fewer goals. After Garry Rodrigues made his move, Onyekuru took more responsibility and became the most important figure in the coach’s offensive plans. His 16-goal & 6-assist performance helped the coach a lot in coming back.
Three months after their disappointing Europa League exit by Benfica, they got the revenge from Akhisar and won the Turkish Cup final. After that, they overcame Basaksehir at home and guaranteed their 22th league title. Once again, a tough season awaits coach Fatih Terim considering that Onyekuru’s loan period ended.
