Fenerbahçe display derby prowess

Fenerbahçe SK defeated Istanbul rivals Galatasaray AS tonight to move to within one point of the Turkish Süper Lig lead.

Unbeaten run ends
Galatasaray had not lost any of their previous 14 league games this season while title-holders Fenerbahçe have been playing catch-up after an indifferent start, but the home side were dominant at the Şükrü Saracoglu Stadium. Semih Şentürk was picked to start as Deniz Barış remained absent with a groin injury and the midfielder justified his selection within five minutes as he ran on to Alex's through-ball and applied a simple finish.

Win sealed
The second goal arrived not long before the hour as a powerful Roberto Carlos free-kick was deflected into the path of Deivid, who made no mistake, though the scorer was sent off with 12 minutes left for violent conduct towards Galatasaray left-back Hakan Balta. Still, had visiting goalkeeper Orkun Uşak not pulled off a string of excellent saves to deny Alex, Gökhan Gönül, Semih, Deivid and Mehmet Aurélio there could have been an even more comfortable victory for Fenerbahçe, who have not lost at home to their arch-rivals since 1999.

European encounter
Zico's side are now level on points with Sivasspor, who will go top if they overcome Denizlispor on Sunday. However, Fenerbahçe will now turn their attention to Wednesday's UEFA Champions League visit of PFC CSKA Moskva, where a win would take the Turkish champions past the group stage for the first time.