Istanbul giants Galatasaray reclaimed the Turkish Super League top spot after its crosstown rival Medipol Başakşehirspor shared spoils with Gençlerbirliği on Monday.
Host Başakşehir was held to a 1-1 draw by a determined Gençlerbirliği at Istanbul's Fatih Terim Stadium on the closing match of game week 23.
Başakşehir's Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor opened the scoresheet in the 28th minute, but Gençlerbirliği's Abdul Khalili equalized in the 50th minute of the match.
The draw meant Başakşehir, with 47 points, is now tied with Galatasaray, who retook the top spot on goal difference. Galatasaray had thrashed Bursaspor in the week's opening match on Friday.
Meanwhile, Fenerbahçe and current champion Beşiktaş, with 44 points each, are hot on Başakşehir and Galatasaray's heels.
Earlier on Sunday, the Beşiktaş picked up a crucial 3-1 win against Fenerbahçe to become level in the points tally.
In the match, Fenerbahçe scored the first goal in the eighth minute when its Brazilian attacking midfielder Giuliano de Paulo's shot was deflected by Beşiktaş defender Domagoj Vida but José Fernandao was there to finish.
The first half finished 1-0 with Fenerbahçe in the lead, but the second half was a completely different story. Beşiktaş managed to equalize the score in the 49th minute after Vida headed in a corner kick. The Black Eagles took the lead in the 75th minute, following a brilliant trivela – outside foot – shot by Portuguese winger Ricardo Quaresma. Quaresma was not done as he found another goal for his team in the dying minutes of the match.
Next week in Spor Toto Super League will see another important clash when sixth-placed Trabzonspor hosts Beşiktaş. This will be the Black Eagles' third big match in one week. They will then host Fenerbahçe in the Ziraat Turkish Cup semifinal first leg match Thursday.
Başakşehir, on the other hand, will host league underdogs Göztepe while Galatasaray will travel to Karabükspor, which is anchored to the bottom of the standings with just 12 points. Fourth-placed Fenerbahçe will host an in-form Teleset Mobilya Akhisarpor who has their last three matches.