Title challengers Fenerbahce and Besiktas went head-to-head in Kadikoy on Saturday evening, as both teams looked to make an early statement.
Fenerbahce were missing star man Marco Asensio due to injury, but were coming into the contest in some good form, as were Besiktas.
The first half was a very competitive affair, as Milan Skriniar gave the home side the lead, before left-back Ridvan Yilmaz equalised with an emphatic finish from a lovely Leandro Trossard pass.
However, Besiktas upped the ante in the second half, producing a truly exceptional display to seize control.
After waves of pressure, Besiktas found the winning goal. New signing Dusan Vlahovic scored his fourth goal in two starts after tapping into an empty net following an unselfish pass from Orkun Kokcu.
2-1 was how it finished, and it was fully deserved. An excellent, statement win away in a huge game, from a team that is beginning to look really impressive.
Vincenzo Italiano has coached them into a strong outfit, and with the added firepower of Vlahovic and Trossard, they have become powerful at both ends of the pitch.
Salih Ozcan was superb yet again and is a real candidate for the signing of the season. Fellow midfielder Junior Olaitan was magnificent too.
On the other hand, this was a damaging defeat for Fenerbahce, and they have now lost two of their first four Super Lig games, with pressure already sky-high on the team and manager Ismail Kartal.
They have made some good additions in the transfer window, but have left their squad really short, and they don't have many good options on the bench. On top of that, they have several ageing players in their spine (Skriniar, Nathan Ake and N'Golo Kante). You can see their legs get heavy towards the end of games, then they really start struggling.
They are four points off top and three points off Besiktas in second, so they are certainly not out of the title race. But at the moment, they are far from convincing, and desperately need Asensio back.
Galatasaray and Trabzonspor win
The day before Besiktas' victory over Fenerbahce, Galatasaray picked up three points with a battling 3-2 victory at Istanbul Basaksehir.
Osimhen netted his sixth goal of the season with a fantastic finish in the first half, before a rollercoaster second 45 minutes saw Gabriel Sara bag a 90th-minute winner to snatch the victory.
There was a seismic blow for the four-time defending champions, though, when Osimhen had to come off with a groin injury, before it was revealed that he is set to miss the next two to three weeks, meaning he will be out of their first Champions League match against Sporting on Wednesday.
Osimhen is genuinely 80% of the Galatasaray team, with the whole system built around him. The first half performance with him on the pitch was excellent, while the second was really poor and all over the place. Without him, they look like amateurs at times.
They must find a way to cope, and perhaps the solution could be Rafael Leao. The new signing was excellent when he came on, playing an important role in their second goal.
They should have enough to cope in the league, but in Europe, it is a completely different story altogether.
Meanwhile, Trabzonspor got back to winning ways after a difficult few weeks, which saw manager Fatih Tekke leave his role, as they thrashed Genclerbirligi 5-0.
Paul Onuachu bagged a brace, as Mohammed Salah, Ernest Muci and debutant Franculino Dju all got on the scoresheet.
It was exactly the result they needed, and Salah continues to impress in Turkey, having registered four goals and an assist in four games.
Team of the Week
Corum's Alexandros Kyziridis is the Flashscore Player of the Week, according to our internal ratings system, after the impressive winger had a goal and an assist in his side's first-ever Super Lig win, beating Eyupspor 3-0.
He is joined by Trabzonspor quartet Wagner Pina, Stefan Savic, Aral Simsir and Salah, as well as Besiktas midfielder Olaitan.
