Akhisarspor was categorically better than Galatasaray

Although it was a close game that went to penalties, it is fair to say that Akhisarspor deserved the Turkish Super Cup. They could have scored much more goals if they had been more careful in Galatasaray's penalty box. Plus, they gave very few opportunities to Galatasaray in return. With the early goal they found, the game became a real challenge for Fatih Terim and his players. As Akhisarspor initiated a collective defending strategy close to their midfield, Galatasaray could not utilize their individual talents in midfield due to the lack of time and space. Nevertheless, Terim's reaction to this made his team categorically worse than Akhisarspor.

There is no doubt that Akhisarspor coach Saffet Susic watched the World Cup closely and took his notes. He was aware of the new era in football, the rule of collective defending. His team played like a solid World Cup contender, very good positioning in the back to leave no time and space for the opponent forwards. But, there was another great trick to his game, which made his side play even better than most World Cup participants. Akhisarspor's defense was only five or six meters behind their midfielders, and they did not retreat to their goal whenever Galatasaray attacked. This fact put much more responsibility on Galatasaray's talented players in the midfield, apparently since Fatih Terim had no plans against this type of strategy.

However, Terim was lucky that his team managed to get away with conceding only one goal until he made his move. Then he took out Younes Belhanda and put in Eren Derdiyok, doubling the strikers alongside Bafetimbi Gomis. Rather than strengthening the weak midfield, he chose to completely by-pass the area and play long-balls forward. This was the clear proof of Akhisarspor being categorically better than Galatasaray, since Susic's tactics were pre-planned and repeatable, unlike Terim's long-ball chaos.

This game should alert all the technical staff in Galatasaray, since their opponents will definitely utilize Susic's plan against them. Galatasaray differentiated themselves from their rivals because of their great offensive press last year, but Akhisarspor showed all us that if you bring your defenders closer to midfield you eliminate that threat. The reason is simple, Akhisarspor trusted their organized defense and swift counterattacks, so they did not have to make unnecessary passes on defense. As Galatasaray pressed them, they sent direct balls up front, and considering they were already in the midfield area, their passes were mostly accurate. If weaker sides in the Super League can adopt Susic's strategy, we may watch a very tough league this year.