Ismail Kartal gave the order! All eyes on Batshuayi
Fenerbahçe will be entering tonight's Ludogorets match having secured 3 out of 3 wins in the group. Although any loss to be experienced won't affect the Yellow Canaries too much, Ismail Kartal gave his students directives.
The defeat against Trabzonspor in the league both dampened spirits and further emphasized the importance of the upcoming match against Adana Demirspor on Sunday. Hence, for Fenerbahçe, who have already secured 3 out of 3 wins in Conference League Group H, any potential loss in tonight’s Ludogorets battle won’t have a significant impact. However, Ismail Kartal doesn’t share the same view. In his discussion with his players, he detailed what needs to be done and now the focus turns to Fenerbahçe’s goalscorer Batshuayi.
‘Adana Demirspor is next’
Ismail Kartal, reminding his team about how Ludogorets gave them a tough time in the first match, said, “For them, winning is much more important in terms of advancing from the group. They will be more eager in front of their supporters. However, our goal is the same. We will play our own game, attack, and secure victory. Let’s take the 3 points and finish our job in the group. Then we’ll think about the match we’ll play together with Adana Demirspor,” according to reports.
Eyes on Batshuayi once again
The Belgian forward has experienced all 4 of his goal celebrations this season in European matches. Therefore, it’s expected that Michy Batshuayi, dubbed the ‘European goalscorer,’ will once again take to the field in the starting lineup against Ludogorets tonight. The experienced player shook Nordsjaelland’s nets in the first match of the group, but he went unnoticed in the Trnava match with a mediocre performance. Batshuayi, in the match against Ludogorets held in Kadıköy, first shook the nets and then was involved in Zajc’s first goal. The star player, to whom Ismail Kartal hasn’t given much playing time in Turkish Super League, aims to show he won’t step back in the competition against Edin Dzeko with the performance he displays tonight. Batshuayi has scored 4 times and provided 1 assist in 8 European matches this season. However, he has remained quiet in the Turkish Super League.
Infusing youth into the squad
Fenerbahçe traveled to Bulgaria yesterday for the Ludogorets match. Players such as Becao, Djiku, Serdar Aziz, Fred, King, and Mert Hakan Yandaş, who are suffering from injuries, didn’t make it into the squad. Additionally, Samet Akaydın, Mert Müldür, Bartuğ Elmaz, and Emre Mor, whose names were not on the list provided to UEFA, were left in Istanbul. Ismail Kartal included 5 young players from the U19 team in the squad due to these absences.”
