Besiktas 3 - FC Barcelona 0

Besiktas:
Shorunmu, Karhan, Tayfur, Munch, Umit, Khlestov, Erman (Rahim 90), Ibrahim, Nouma (Fazli 88), Ahmet Dursun (Yasin 81), Nihat

Barcelona:
Dutruel, F. De Boer, Abelardo, De La Pena, Kluivert (Dani 74), Rivaldo, Overmars, Sergi (Alfonso 65) Gerard, Petit, Simao (Zenden 77)

Referee: Claude Colombo (France)

Click here for the history minute by minute

Ahmet Dursun double downs Barca

Besiktas JK pulled off a sensational 3-0 win that blew the First Group Match Stage of Group H wide open. Ahmet Dursun was the Besiktas hero as he grabbed two clinical goals to resurrect his side's UEFA Champions League hopes and give the Turks their maiden victory over Spanish opposition.

High drama

The Besiktas players celebrate their opening goal (©Empics) Early on there were few signs of the high drama to come as neither sides' defence seemed willing to give an inch of space. Both attacks were only permitted to show tantalising glimpses of the full array of their technical armoury, although the Turkish championship runners-up were the more purposeful side, all attacking cut and thrust and strong wing-play. By contrast Barcelona's approach was subtler, as they sought to push men, and passes, in-and-out of space in search of defensive frailties within the Turkish opposition. After this feeling-out period, Barcelona carved out the first real opening on ten minutes. Emmanuel Petit floated in a dangerous high ball which Patrick Kluivert chested down for Rivaldo. The Brazilian swivelled, dummied and turned his marker before pushing the ball into the six-yard box, where the lurking Marc Overmars had his shot blocked.

Stunning double save 

Three minutes later, the Turkish side hit back. Markus Munch's corner was headed goalwards by Pascal Nouma but Sergi Barjuan was wisely stationed by the near post and cleared off the line. The pendulum then swung Barca's way again as Rivaldo found himself free eight yards out, but, despite the ball falling on his favoured left-foot, his weaker-than-expected drive was pushed away by Ike Shorunmu's diving right-handed save. As the half progressed, it was Besiktas who gradually assumed a position of superiority. Gerard Segu Lopez did rap the foot of the post for Barca with a header, but it was an isolated incident as the white-shirted Turks poured forward in increasing numbers and with growing attacking brio, as Ibrahim Uzulmez was denied by a stunning double save from Richard Dutruel, first with his hands and then his feet.

Ahmet Dursun steals in 

On 29 minutes, Munch also came close to opening the scoring when he cut inside the last Barcelona man, Simao, and found himself one-on-one with Dutruel. However the German scuffed his shot allowing the goalkeeper crucial time with which to produce a right-footed save. Seven minutes before half-time the home side finally succeeded in taking the lead. Overmars shoved Ibrahim Uzulmez and conceded a free-kick which Besiktas used to launch an attack down the right. Nehat Kahveci then delivered a marvellous cross which bisected the Barcelona backline and Ahmet Dursun stole in between Frank de Boer and Fernando Abelardo with an outstretched left boot to smash the ball past the advancing Dutruel.

Sublime chip 

Barcelona still seemed shell-shocked as the second half got underway and just two minutes after the break a floated lob by Dursun nearly caught them out as Dutruel had to scramble back to push the ball over the bar. On 75 minutes it was Dursun who struck again with the goal that destroyed Barcelona's comeback hopes. Nouma collected a through ball that had caught the Catalans' central defenders out of position, before wrong-footing fellow Frenchman Petit and nudging the ball into Dursun's path. The striker took one touch to control the ball, waited for Dutruel to advance and then chipped him sublimely.

Bizarre goal 

Barcelona could have hit back almost immediately, but substitutes Dani Garcia and Alfonso Perez both scuffed shots when clean through, and Besiktas finally settled the game with three minutes remaining with the most bizarre of goals. Nouma's shot was parried into the air by Dutruel and, as Nouma and Petit fought for the loose ball, it cannoned off the Besiktas player, hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced in, and then out, of the goal. After consultation with the linesman the referee ruled that the ball had indeed crossed the line and Barcelona's misery was made complete.

Barcelona to learn from defeat? UEFA Champions League football returns to the Inönü stadium, Istanbul for the first time since November 1997 as Besiktas JK welcome FC Barcelona for a Group H clash on Tuesday.

Barcelona without win in Turkey

It's the first time the two clubs have met in European club competition and something could give because Besiktas have never managed to beat Spanish opposition, while Barcelona have never won in Turkey. Barcelona got off to a superb start by beating Leeds 4-0 at Camp Nou last Wednesday. However they suffered a domestic setback when they then slumped to a 3-1 defeat against Athletic Club in Bilbao at the weekend. Patrick Kluivert gave Barça the lead after 25 minutes but that advantage was lost amidst two penalties for the home team with goalkeeper Richard Dutruel also shown the red card.

Cocu injured "We failed to see off the opposition when we had them groggy," commented coach Lorenzo Serra Ferrer, "and we have to use this defeat as a lesson." That game marked the return to the squad of Luís Enrique for the first time since undergoing surgery for a left-knee cartilage problem at the beginning of March while winger Boudewijn Zenden flew to Turkey to mark his return after a torn thigh muscle. However Phillip Cocu is out after damaging a knee on Wednesday. His replacement is the former Arsenal FC midfielder Emmanuel Petit. Josep Guardiola still has his ankle in plaster and is likely to be out for another month.

"We have forgotten the Milan defeat" - Scala 

Besiktas fared better than their Spanish opponents at the weekend, notching up a 3-0 victory over championship rivals Fenerbahçe in the Inönü. The goals came from Nihat and Nouma while Tayfur, who converted the Besiktas penalty in their opening-match 4-1 defeat to Milan AC, weighed in with his first league goal of the season. "We helped our supporters to forget the heavy defeat in Milan," commented Italian coach Nevio Scala afterwards. "For this match, all I did was to select the eleven players. They did the rest. This has given us much better morale for the big match against Barcelona."

Zafer takes over from Halilagic 

Sead Dost Halilagic was not one of the eleven players selected; the Bosnian defender told his coach an hour before kick-off that he didn't feel psychologically equipped to play because of the heavy defeat in Milan. His place against Barcelona should go to Rahim Zafer. Ayhan was also omitted against Fenerbahçe because Scala feels he is still short of peak form. Curiously, Besiktas would have won the match 3-0 even if they had lost. Fenerbahçe fielded six foreign players, contrary to Turkish regulations permitting only five in league and cup fixtures.

19.09.2000

Besiktas 3 Barcelona 0 

Tuesday 19th September 2000 by OneFootball.com

Besiktas turned the Champions' League form book upside down with a sensational 3-0 victory over Barcelona on Tuesday night at the Inonu Stadi.

Make no mistake, the Black Eagles were full value for the win. Never mind three goals, they could easily have had six. The first half statistics speak for themselves. Besiktas forced nine corners to Barcelona's two and they had seven shots on target, again to two from the opposition.

The Eagles went in front after 37 minutes when man of the match Nihat Kahveci turned Sergi inside out on the right and slid in a low cross. Ahmet Dursun, who had had a terrible season prior to this game, broke his goal drought with a precise shot just inside the post.

During that first half, Barca keeper Dutruel kept his team in the game with a string of fine saves. By contrast, Ike Shorunmu at the other end was seriously tested only once when he turned an Abelardo shot round for a corner on 15 minutes.

Besiktas had lost its opening Champions' League encounter 4-1 in Milan and despite the goal, there were still fears of another humiliation as Barca enjoyed a period of domination early in the second half.

But with Erman Guracar keeping Rivaldo well in check and Nihat allowing Marc Overmars no room at all, the Catalans produced little of note in front of goal and Besiktas turned up the heat again.

On 74 minutes, Ibrahim Uzulmez and Pascal Nouma combined down the left to send in Ahmet for his and his team's second.

In the dying minutes of the game, Nouma twice went close before adding the third.

Four minutes from time the Frenchman saw one shot come back from Dutruel and his crack at the rebound apparently return from the inside of the post. But the linesman ruled that the ball had crossed the line and the referee pointed to the centre spot.

There could still have been more. Almost on the final whistle, Nihat saw a stinging free kick brilliantly saved by Dutruel.

This was a victory for teamwork. The Eagles got men back behind the ball fast when they needed to do so and were equally rapid in pushing players forward in support of Nouma and Ahmet.

In addition to Nihat, special praise should go to Tayfur Havutcu and Miroslav Karhan. These three covered every blade of grass on the pitch.

Barca? They looked as though they expected their reputation to win the match for them and were a well beaten side at the end.

The money Barcelona received for Luis Figo this summer would buy the entire Besiktas team - maybe they should consider it.

With Leeds United beating AC Milan, this group is now wide open and nobody should write off the Black Eagles just yet.