GALATASARAY ARE CHAMPIONS AGAIN

Galatasaray defeated Sivasspor 4-2 on Sunday to wrap up a record 19th Turkish Super Lig title.

Selcuk Inan and Burak Yilmaz both scored braces for Galatasaray as the Istanbul-based club became the first Turkish club to win 19 league titles.

Galatasaray edged ahead of local rivals Fenerbahce (18 titles), while Istanbul's other main club Besiktas are third overall with 13 championships.

Knowing a win on Sunday would clinch the title with two games remaining, Galatasaray started strongly at home with Yilmaz firing an early effort just wide of the post.

But the home crowd did not have to wait long for the opening goal as Inan curled his free-kick around the wall and into the net from the edge of the penalty area in the eighth minute.

Didier Drogba hit the post for Galatasaray soon after but Sivasspor stayed within a goal of the home side until eight minutes into the second half.

Emmanuel Eboue's through-ball found Yilmaz in behind Sivasspor's defence and the top-goalscorer in the Turkish Super Lig turned before blasting his shot past visiting goalkeeper Milan Borjan.

Inan showed plenty of skill to score Galatasaray's third on the hour mark, controlling a long pass, flicking it over an opponent and then thumping a scorching half-volley from the edge of the box.

Galatasaray were cruising in the 75th minute when Yilmaz completed his brace with a cool finish but Sivasspor finished the game strongly thanks to Kadir Bekmezci's long-range strike and a similarly stunning effort from Cihan Ozkara in stoppage time.

The hosts finished the match with 10 players after Umut Bulut was sent off in the 89th minute but it failed to take the gloss off a big day in Galatasaray's history.

Galatasaray moved 10 points ahead of Fenerbahce after the second-placed side suffered a shock 2-0 loss to Istanbul BB, while Besiktas, who sit third, knocked off Eskisehirspor 2-1 on Saturday.

Bursaspor just about wrapped up Turkey's second spot in next season's Europa League with a 4-2 comeback win away to Orduspor, after Kasimpasa drew 0-0 with Genclerbirligi.

Those results left fourth-placed Bursaspor six points clear of Kasimpasa with two games left this season.

In a high-scoring weekend in the Super Lig, Antalysaspor triumphed in a 4-3 goal-fest against Akhisar Belediyespor, Kayserispor knocked off Trabzonspor 2-1, while Elazigspor and Gaziantepspor won 2-0 over Mersin Idmanyurdu and Karabukspor respectively.