Two former great midfielders and rivals in Italy, Emre Belözoğlu and Andrea Pirlo, faced off as managers this time in Turkey. It might have been a bit of a dull game for casuals ending 0-0 with not a lot of chances created but both teams implemented great defensive strategies and Başakşehir kept their “only clean sheets” title running for at least one more week.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be a strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Youssouf Ndayishimiye
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Burundian
- Age: 23
- Date of Birth: 27/10/1998
- Current Club: Başakşehir
- Career: Aigle Noir FC, Yeni Malatyaspor, Başakşehir
- Position: Centre-Back
- Preferred Foot: Right
When Youssouf Ndayishimiye arrived at Başakşehir, he was 22 and viewed as a holding midfielder. But after a few weeks, he started playing as a centre back. His development here was great and now on his third season at Başakşehir, he is seen as one of the most prominent centre backs in the league. Ndayishimiye is one of the best passers in the league, recording over 100 passes in this game. This might seem like an insane number but it’s become almost normal to see him have 100+ passes in a game. Many of his passes are lateral or short passes but his ball playing ability shines with his many line-breaking passes attempted. And his pass accuracy is not something that should be overlooked either. This can be attributed to the great chemistry with teammates. He didn’t panic under pressure, instead tried to play it safe with short passes to the goalkeeper or his partner. This is why the young manager Emre Belözoğlu trusts him and gives him the keys for the build-up phase. In a poor game with almost no good chances created by either side, his defensive side didn’t really show through but it’s still important to mention that he didn’t let any striker or winger past him and.
Physically, Ndayishimiye is a really difficult player to get past. He is 1.83m and he is also strong. He isn’t really that tall but his jumping reach combined with his strength makes him great aerially. He won all of his 4 aerial duels and didn’t let Diagne, who stands at 1.91 m, feast with the long balls attempted by Karagümrük. He also can be a threat in set pieces with shown aerial ability and managed to get a header in from a corner which went wide and didn’t cause any danger for the keeper.
Another aspect that stands about the Burundian national is his consistency. He brings his A+ game almost every matchday. He nullifies the attacking threat of the opponent while trying to exploit the spaces with his passing ability. He is consistent to the level, when you watch him a couple of times it’s not his good sides that stick out but his poor sides because you are already familiar with his good sides.
Rating – A1
He definitely will make the jump to a higher league, it’s a just a matter of time and place. He can be a great asset in any ball playing side and can be a great fit to many mid table sides in 5 top leagues like Brighton, Lille, Lens.
Mounir Chouiar
Player Profile:
- Nationality: French
- Age: 23
- Date of Birth: 23/01/1999
- Current Club: Başakşehir
- Career: Lens (Y), Dijon, Yeni Malatyaspor (Loan), Başakşehir
- Position: Left Winger
- Preferred Foot: Right
Another player who played for both Yeni Malatyaspor and Başakşehir is the French winger Mounir Chouiar. Chouiar arrived at Başakşehir permanently after a promising loan spell at Yeni Malatyaspor this summer and he appeared at all games in the league for them. As the left winger of a 4-3-3, he took 1v1s many times and tried to beat his opponent with dribbling skills. He can keep the ball close to himself with his great touch so he has the ability to make it out of narrow spaces but during this game, he was unable to create almost any chances for his team. His tendency to stay wide and then cut inside with the ball didn’t provide anything as well. He wasn’t also direct enough with his passing. Attempted a low amount of passes, and many of them were either inaccurate or to the back. His decision making looked not good at times. Like when he was trying to take 1v1’s that didn’t look like good positions or crossing when no one in the box is available or in shape to receive the ball.
Nothing stands about his physique as he’s just a average build winger, pretty short and lean. However he’s almost lightning fast and can be dangerous in counter attacks when big spaces behind opponent’s defence appear. If he can improve his run timing, him making diagonal runs through the box can be lethal. His defensive contributions are really limited and almost let the opponent’s fullback through every time with little to none marking. He was quite lucky that they weren’t efficient in final third and didn’t cause any trouble.
His main duty as the winger in Başakşehir’s game is to disrupt the opponent’s backline and create a little bit of chaos with his technique and speed but he wasn’t good enough this game so it ended up with being subbed at 65th minute for him.
Rating – B1
He’s a good player for a good team in the Super League but when we consider that he wasn’t able to stick around at Ligue 1, his potential to move higher becomes questionable. He has to improve himself in many ways such as decision making in order to become a complete winger and move higher. He is still far off his prime at 23 but needs to take action quickly to improve his game.
Philippe Keny
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Senegalese
- Age: 23
- Date of Birth: 18/05/1999
- Current Club: Başakşehir
- Career: UMS Montelimar, Tours (Y), LB Châteauroux, Bandırmaspor. Başakşehir
- Position: Striker
- Preferred Foot: Right
Philippe Keny, the Senegalese striker, scored 12 goals last year at Turkey’s second tier league and earned a move to the Super League. However, his move to a contender was odd to some people as he wasn’t seen that good of a player. But his physical attributes and athletic abilities can make a lot of difference. He is 1.90 m and he has great core strength as well. He doesn’t and can’t get pushed around by centre-backs. He also has superb pace and acceleration which helps him become a great pressing threat but he couldn’t win the ball back. He was instructed to mark the goalkeeper closely and he did well in that regard as well, forcing the keeper to play long many times.
His physical and athletic attributes are not to be messed around but he didn’t show up to this game in other aspects. Him with the ball was left a sour taste in my mouth because he was sloppy with his footwork and he couldn’t beat his opponent with or without the ball. Also, his passing was a rare occasion, and accurate passes were even more rare so it’s fair to say that he isn’t a good link-up player at any means but him as a striker was still not fulfilling his positional duties, as he finished the game with 0 shots recorded in 60 minutes which is really underwhelming. The manager wasn’t probably too happy with him which led to an earlier than usual substitution at 58th minute.
Rating – B2
He still has a lot to prove if he wants to be a key player at Başakşehir. His technique must improve and his goal instincts could be a lot better. This doesn’t mean he won’t be able to make the jump but he still has a lot of rough corners to smooth.