Galatasaray faced Tümosan Konyaspor in the 38th and last week of the Trendyol Süper Lig.
The Yellow-Reds took the lead in the 29th minute. Mauro Icardi headed Derrick Arthur Köhn's cross from the left wing, and the ball went into the net, making the score 0-1. Since there were no more goals in the rest of the first half of the match, The Yellow-Reds ended with a 1-0 advantage.
The guest team doubled the difference in the 51st minute. Lucas Torreira's pass from Barış Alper Yılmaz was followed by Torreira's pass, and Icardi sent the ball into the net with his heel, making the score 0-2.
Not long after, two minutes later, in the 53rd minute, The Yellow-Reds increased their lead to three. Berkan Kutlu, who received the ball on the penalty arc after Kaan Ayhan's pass, shot without waiting, the ball went into the net and that was it, the score was 0-3.
In the 78th minute, Louka Prip's hard shot, who received the ball outside the penalty area after Muhammet Demir's pass, went into the net and Konyaspor was able to score their first goal and made the score 1-3.
The match ended with the guest team leading 3-1. Increasing their points to 102, Galatasaray reached the championship by maintaining the difference between them and Fenerbahçe. After the final whistle, Galatasaray players celebrated the championship in the middle of the field.
24th Championship
With this victory, "Cimbom" became champions for the 24th time in the league, whose 66th season was played. Galatasaray, the team with the most championships in the league, are five championships ahead of their closest follower, Fenerbahçe. Fenerbahçe currently have 19 championships.
Point Record
Galatasaray broke a record with 102 points in the Süper Lig. They reached that with 33 wins, three draws, and two losses in the 38 games they played. The team, which broke many records throughout the season, also became the first team in Süper Lig history to collect triple-digit points. This record in the Süper Lig belonged to Fenerbahçe, which collected 93 points in the 1988/89 season.
Top Scorer of the Season: Mauro Icardi
Galatasaray's Argentinian star Mauro Icardi became the top scorer of the season.
The player, who made a great contribution to the team's championship with the goals he scored, reached the top with 25 goals in 34 matches this season.
In second place is rival Fenerbahçe's Bosnian player Edin Džeko with 21 goals.
Fifth Star Coming Soon
Galatasaray will wear the fifth star if they win a championship in the Süper Lig. The Yellow-Red team, which continues to be the only team that has the right to carry four stars on their jersey, completed this season as champion and took a victory lap for the 24th time. There is only one championship left for "Cimbom" to win the fifth star. Fans have their eyes on the next season.
One More Trophy for the Coach
Galatasaray Coach Okan Buruk became champion for the third time in his coaching career.
Buruk, who previously won the championship in the 2019-2020 season at the head of Istanbul Başakşehir, repeated the same success with Galatasaray last season. With the championship he achieved this season, the experienced coach won two consecutive victories and his third victory in total.
Okan Buruk, who has won the most championships in his career as a football player and coach in the Süper Lig, increased his total number of championships to ten with his success this season. It should also be noted that he lifted the cup seven times as a football player.
First Championship Joy
Among the players in the Galatasaray squad who played in the Süper Lig this season, eight won the championship for the first time at the top league level.
Wilfried Zaha, who played high-level football in England for years, and Kerem Demirbay and Derrick Köhn, who had a career that rose to the German National Team, were among these players.
Carlos Vinicius, who joined the team on loan from Fulham just four months ago and will leave again at the end of June, was among those who lifted the cup. Eyüp Aydın, who is only 19 years old, won the first major trophy of his career.
Ali Turap Bülbül, Efe Akman, and Baran Demiroğlu, who came out of the youth infrastructure, also wore the championship epaulette for the first time in their careers.
UEFA Champions League Time
Galatasaray will play in the play-offs in the UEFA Champions League with the championship they have achieved.
The Yellow-Red team will compete in the play-off round to be among the 36 teams in the 2024-2025 season.
Fernando Muslera's Incredible Success
Fernando Muslera played a key role in the defensive performance and the success in scoring goals in Galatasaray's 24th championship. While The Lions scored 92 goals, they saw the ball only 26 times and became the team that conceded the fewest goals in the league.
The Captain also shared his feelings: "I came here in August 2011. I lifted 17 trophies. Galatasaray wins trophies, not matches. That needs to be said.
"17 trophies in 13 seasons. I also want to congratulate my teammates, our president, Coach Okan, and also the technical team. We started this journey in June, we played in the Champions League, we played against very big teams, and at the end of the day, we became champions together. I would like to congratulate my teammates again.
Message from Fatih Terim
Fatih Terim, nicknamed "İmparator", the former and legendary coach of Galatasaray, congratulated his former team in his post on social media platform X:
"I watched you all season with pride. Congratulations to our entire community on the 24th championship".
Feelings After the Match
From Coach Okan Buruk
Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk, at the press conference held at the stadium where the match was played, stated that they wanted to win the match in which Konyapor were fighting to stay in the league and his team was fighting for the championship.
"We are very happy. It was a difficult environment. Konyaspor were in the relegation zone. We deservedly won this match by playing well. Last week, I told Galatasaray fans to prepare the flags, May is ours! As always, May is ours again. Now it is time for the 25th championship. Let them get prepared for that too".
He added: "I live with our fans. We have to serve them and win matches. And we are with a very good group of players. Together with the great Galatasaray fans, our president, and our board of directors, we have accomplished a great job. Let it be a gift to Galatasaray fans. They deserve it the most. They always supported us. They also supported last week. Our target is the fifth star. We will start working for the fifth star".
From Mauro Icardi
Mauro Icardi, the 25-goal king of champion Galatasaray, made a statement after the championship: “We became champions once again. We are very happy. We were rewarded for our efforts. I was not at 100 percent this season. Other than that, I am very happy. If I were at 100 percent, I would score more goals. That is for sure. There were some criticisms about this issue towards me throughout the season. I still became the top scorer. Dries also became the assist king. I could have had a much better season, but right now I think it is our best season".
The Glorious History
So, in which years did this club become champion and increase its trophy collection this much? They have won championships in the following years:
- 1961–62
- 1962–63
- 1968–69
- 1970–71
- 1971–72
- 1972–73
- 1986–87
- 1987–88
- 1992–93
- 1993–94
- 1996–97
- 1997–98
- 1998–99
- 1999–2000
- 2001–02
- 2005–06
- 2007–08
- 2011–12
- 2012–13
- 2014–15
- 2017–18
- 2018–19
- 2022–23
- 2023-24
