Article by Tudor Belivacă – Published Saturday, January 17, 2026, 9:50 p.m. / Updated Saturday, January 17, 2026 10:09 p.m.
The other Romanian from Gaziantep, Deian Sorescu, was an unused reserve in the game at Rams Park in Istanbul.
Gaziantep drew with Galatasaray, the reigning champions of Turkey's first league
Galatasaray, the reigning Super Lig champions, started the game at Rams Park much better, but in the first half they failed to be dangerous offensively. Despite controlling play and possession, Galatasaray failed to register a single shot on goal in the first act. Gaziantep had two shots on goal, but were heavily dominated.
Alexandru Maxim and Denis Drăguș started the game in Istanbul as starters, but did not finish the game on the field. The first to be changed was the striker, Denis Drăguș, in the 63rd minute, just before Gaziantep scored. Gassama was introduced in his place.
Gaziantep opened the scoring in the 73rd minute of the match through Bayo, and time began to flow in favor of the visitors. However, in the 84th minute, Baris Alper Yilmaz, the goalscorer of Galatasaray, managed to equalize for the hosts and recorded the final result.
Alexandru Maxim was replaced in overtime, in the 90th+1st minute. Gidado entered his place.
This point taken on Galatasaray's field does not help the Romanian team much. Gaziantep is in 8th place in the Super Lig, with 24 points accumulated in 18 matches. By the end of the stage, they could drop to position #10 depending on the results Kocaelispor and Alanyaspor, Ianis Hagi's team, will get.
Galatasaray is the leader of the Super Lig standings: they have 43 points, 4 points away from rival Fenerbahce, the team in second place.
Ranking in the Super Lig
