Before Galatasaray were in action, Fenerbahce had a tricky little away trip to Istanbul Basaksehir on Friday evening. Anything but a victory would give their arch-rivals the opportunity to officially wrap up the title against Trabzonspor on Saturday.
However, after a really shaky start to the game and an overall pretty flat and deflated performance, their quality shone through, claiming a 4-1 win. Interestingly, it was their sixth consecutive win over Basaksehir, becoming the only team to beat them this many times in a row.
Twenty minutes into the match, Fenerbahce were given an early lifeline after Krzysztof Piatek missed his second penalty in consecutive weeks.
Istanbul Basaksehir were made to pay, as Mert Muldur put Fener ahead on the cusp of half time with a delicate finish.
Milan Skriniar doubled their lead on the hour mark, scoring his third goal of the season. It is his best tally since the 2021/22 season with Inter, in which he also scored three goals. He has impressed since signing in the winter window, and will be an important part of the team next campaign.
Substitutes Youssef En-Nesyri and Oguz Aydin both scored late in the game, with Omer Beyaz scoring a consolation goal sandwiched in between.
In reality, though, it did feel like a proper end-of-season match. Neither side looked too motivated. For Fenerbahce, their fight for the title is over, and Basaksehir are sitting quite comfortably in fifth place.
Should Galatasaray beat Trabzonspor in the Turkish Cup final on Wednesday evening, fifth place would actually enter the qualifying round of the Europa Conference League. So they will certainly be rooting for a Galatasaray win.
Speaking of the champions-elect, Okan Buruk's men visited Trabzonspor on Saturday. While a somewhat tricky game on paper, Trabzon had eyes on the cup final, and were resting several key players, including striker Simon Banza.
Galatasaray were sloppy for large portions of the match, and were indebted to a spectacular double save from captain and club legend Fernando Muslera in goal.
They seemed to be a bit overconfident in the first half, playing in a relaxed manner as if the title was already completely wrapped up.
However, they were much better in the second half, and took the lead after a fabulous header from centre back Abdulkerim Bardakci. It was his 11th headed goal since the 2021/22 season, with only Mame Thiam (15) and Mauro Icardi (12) having scored more.
Super sub Alvaro Morata then put the game to bed in the 84th minute with a calm and collected finish, sealing an efficient 2-0 win. It is now seven wins in a row for Galatasaray in all competitions, and they couldn't have hit top form at a better time.
Meanwhile, Trabzon suffered their first defeat in six matches, with their last loss coming against Fenerbahce at the start of April.
Whether fielding their strongest team would have made much difference for Trabzonspor is unclear, although we will know for sure on Wednesday. A victory for them in the cup final will see them snatch a European spot.
Galatasaray now have their eyes on a domestic double. They know they will be in for a far tougher test against a more determined and stronger Trabzon team, but if they turn up, they will be confident that they can get the job done.
They will then turn their attention to a home game against Kayserispor on the weekend, where they have the opportunity to win a 25th Super Lig title in front of their fans. It has the potential to be an amazing week for Okan Buruk and his men.
Selcuk Inan leaves Gaziantep
In some really surprising and frankly ridiculous news, manager Selcuk Inan left Gaziantep following a 1-0 home defeat to Alanyaspor, seeing them lose their fourth straight match.
Selcuk was appointed Gaziantep manager last season, with the team in a massive fight to remain in the Super Lig. In the end, they stayed up pretty comfortably, finishing 11th and four points above the relegation zone.
They were also enjoying a really strong 2024/25 campaign, sitting in the top half for most of it and not even having to think about relegation. With the sixth-best home record in the league, they were always a tough team to come up against.
However, the club and fans have reacted pretty shockingly to this four-game losing run, which has seen them drop to 13th - but just five points off seventh.
As a result, they parted ways with the former Galatasaray and Trabzon midfielder - an utterly bizarre decision. He was doing a terrific job at the club, and the behaviour reeks of entitlement and thinking they are better than they actually are.
If they get the next appointment wrong, they could easily find themselves in another dogfight to stay up, and they will be searching for Selcuk Inan to keep them up again.
Highlight of the week
While Galatasaray were comfortable for the majority of the match against Trabzonspor, they needed Muslera to bail them out in the first half with this terrific double save.
Team of the week
Kayserispor winger Miguel Cardoso is the Player of the Week according to Flashscore's very own ratings system, after he scored a hat-trick in his side's 3-1 victory over Antalyaspor.
Besiktas trio Milot Rashica, Rafa Silva and Jonas Svensson are all included after starring in a 4-1 thumping of bottom of the table Adana Demirspor, while Gabriel Sara, Skriniar and Dominik Livakovic - who saved Piatek's penalty - also feature.