On Friday evening, Galatasaray and Gaziantep were given the honour of raising the curtain on the new 2025/26 season. The excitement built ahead of the contest as Leroy Sane was named in the starting line-up to make his debut, but Super Lig record signing Victor Osimhen missed out on the squad as he needed more time to get fully fit.
As a result, with Mauro Icardi still out injured and Alvaro Morata preparing for his move to Como, they were left without a designated striker, so the versatile Baris Alper Yilmaz had to fill the void up front - something he has done several times before, namely for the Turkish national team.
And the 25-year-old put in a supreme centre forward performance, leading the line immensely. Baris bagged a brace as well as an assist, helping Galatasaray cruise to the most straightforward of 3-0 victories on the opening day of the season.
Both his strikes came from the penalty spot, while he set up ever-consistent left back Eren Elmali for his first goal for the club, with all three goals coming in the first half.
Baris has been the subject of interest from abroad this summer, and he has expressed his desire to move to one of the top five European leagues at some point in his career. However, Galatasaray are desperate to keep hold of him due to his freakish pace and power, his work ethic, and all-round versatility. He is one of the club's most important players.
Meanwhile, the second half was barely competitive as Gaziantep went down to 10 men and Galatasaray took their foot off the gas in sweltering conditions and on a pretty terrible pitch. Sane showed flashes of his brilliant best, and he managed to get 90 minutes into his legs, which was a big positive.
But in truth, even without Osimhen, this Galatasaray team are so far ahead of 99% of the Super Lig, and they can overwhelm almost everyone. And with Fenerbahce and Besiktas not playing this weekend, it is nice for them to get slightly ahead of the chasing pack early.
So while this was a brilliant way to start their season and manager Okan Buruk can be pleased, they still need to bring in a Fernando Muslera replacement in goal and a top-class defender so they can be more competitive in the Champions League this season, which should be a major goal.
Samsunspor and Trabzonspor off and running
After finishing third last season, Samsunspor got their new campaign up and running with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Genclerbirligi. Marius bagged from the spot in the first half before the impressive Carlo Holse doubled their lead in the second.
Metehan Mimaroglu scored a late consolation goal for the away side, but they should be very encouraged by their performance. They gave their opponents a proper game and looked comfortably like a Super Lig side, despite spending four seasons in the 1. Lig.
For Samsun, three points were all that mattered in their opening game, and they have an important few weeks ahead, including a European play-off game that could see them qualify for the Europa League.
On Monday evening, Trabzonspor continued where they left off towards the end of 2024/25, defeating another newly promoted team, Kocaelispor, 1-0. Paul Onuachu - who made his second debut for the club after a loan stint two seasons ago - scored the winner.
In truth, though, it was far from convincing, and in the second half, they really struggled against. Coach Fatih Tekke admitted they would need to be better in the future. However, 23-year-old Ukrainian centre back Arseniy Batagov was superb in the heart of defence, and looks to be a really promising player after signing from Zorya Luhansk last summer.
Speaking of promising players, Kocaelispor have one of their own: Joseph Nonge. The former Anderlecht and Juventus youth product joined from the Italian giants this window, and the all-action 20-year-old midfielder was arguably the best player on the pitch against Trabzon. A really exciting talent for the club.
One of 2024/25's surprise packages, Eyupspor, who secured a sixth-place finish in their debut Super Lig campaign, suffered a brutal 4-1 home defeat to Konyaspor, indicating that it is going to be several times more difficult this time around.
Losing their talismanic coach, Arda Turan, to Shakhtar Donetsk in the summer was a huge blow, and they are likely to suffer a severe case of second-season syndrome. There is a real chance they find themselves in a proper relegation battle.
Team of the Week
Baris is the Super Lig Player of the Week according to Flashscore's internal ratings system, after his excellent display against Gaziantep. He is joined by teammates Eren and Roland Sallai, with the latter performing well as a makeshift right back.
Trabzonspor duo Okay Yokuslu and new signing Kazeem Olaigbe also make the team, while Umut Nayir finds a spot in the starting XI after his brace against Eyupspor.