Beşiktaş suffered a costly slip in Istanbul on matchday 10 of the Trendyol Süper Lig, letting a two-goal lead slip against Kasımpaşa as the match ended 2-2 at the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Stadium. The result leaves the Istanbul giants six points adrift of league leaders Galatasaray.
Leandro Trossard opened the scoring in the 28th minute, and Dusan Vlahovic doubled the advantage just two minutes into the second half. However, Kasımpaşa pulled one back through Vinck's header on the hour mark, before substitute Rafferty completed the comeback with another header in the 87th minute.
Coach Vincenzo Italiano fielded the same starting eleven that beat İstanbul Başakşehir 2-0 the week before. Winger Ernest Poku was absent due to influenza; Italiano said before the match that he expects Poku to rejoin the squad for the Celtic fixture. He also noted that Orkun was not fully fit and that no unnecessary risks would be taken.
Beşiktaş, now on 19 points, sit fourth in the table. Their away record remains a concern: they have won only once on the road this season, against Fenerbahçe, while suffering defeats at Amedspor and Trabzonspor. Kasımpaşa climbed to 17 points and fifth place with the draw.
Turkish national team manager Sergen Yalçın watched the game from the stands alongside Beşiktaş president Serdal Adalı and executives from both clubs. Before kick-off, Kasımpaşa captain Haris Hajradinovic was honoured for his 250th appearance in the club's colours, while goalkeeper Andreas Gianniotis was presented with a framed shirt to mark his 100th game.
Beşiktaş will host Gençlerbirliği before the international break, while Kasımpaşa travel to Gaziantep next week.
