Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray (2024): Mourinho’s First Intercontinental Derby
Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray was the result of the Intercontinental Derby at the Ulker Stadium in Kadikoy on Saturday 21 September 2024, the first time Jose Mourinho led Fenerbahce against Galatasaray, and he lost. A Dominik Livakovic own goal on 20 minutes, Dries Mertens on 28 and Gabriel Sara on 59 put the visitors three clear before Edin Dzeko’s 63rd-minute penalty. The defeat ended Fenerbahce’s 32-match unbeaten league run, as Daily Sabah reported, and we revisit the day in our On This Day series.
What follows is how a derby billed as Mourinho’s statement match got away from him inside an hour, and why the scoreline mattered far beyond the three points.
Key Facts
- Played on Saturday 21 September 2024 at the Ulker Stadium (Sukru Saracoglu) in Kadikoy, in front of 44,283, as matchday six of the 2024-25 Super Lig.
- Galatasaray won 1-3 as the visitors. Dominik Livakovic scored an own goal on 20 minutes, Dries Mertens made it 0-2 on 28, and Gabriel Sara added the third on 59, before Edin Dzeko pulled one back from the penalty spot on 63.
- It was Jose Mourinho’s first Intercontinental Derby as Fenerbahce manager, and it ended in defeat.
- The result ended Fenerbahce’s 32-match unbeaten run in the Super Lig, according to Daily Sabah.
- Galatasaray moved five points clear on 18 points from six straight wins; Fenerbahce dropped to second, per Daily Sabah’s league summary.
- The referee was Atilla Karaoglan. The opener arrived off a Lucas Torreira volley that struck the bar before deflecting in off Livakovic.
Watch More Football History
The Football Documentary Channel
The Night Mourinho Lost His First Intercontinental Derby
A Derby Across Two Continents
The fixture carries its nickname for a literal reason. Fenerbahce play in Kadikoy on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus, Galatasaray are rooted on the European side of Istanbul, so the Super Lig meeting of the two is the Intercontinental Derby, a rivalry between clubs on different continents in the same city. Jose Mourinho had arrived that summer to end Galatasaray’s grip on the title, and this was his first taste of it. He walked into the Ulker Stadium in front of 44,283 with Fenerbahce unbeaten and top-of-the-table talk building, and walked out having watched the match turn inside out by the interval.
Fenerbahce had not lost a league match in a very long time. The run stood at 32 games without defeat in the Super Lig, as Daily Sabah recorded, a streak that stretched back across the previous season and framed Mourinho’s opening weeks as a continuation rather than a reset. Galatasaray, managed by Okan Buruk and unbeaten themselves, had won every league match they had played. Something had to give in Kadikoy, and it gave in one direction.
How Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray Unfolded
Galatasaray struck first on 20 minutes, and it was the kind of goal that deflates a home crowd. Lucas Torreira lashed an effort from distance that cannoned back off the crossbar, caught Dominik Livakovic and spun over the line, recorded as a Livakovic own goal, as Daily Sabah described it. Eight minutes later the lead doubled. Victor Osimhen laid the ball off with his chest inside the area and Dries Mertens chipped it over Livakovic on 28 minutes, a finish of pure composure in a hostile stadium.
The third goal ended the contest. On 59 minutes Gabriel Sara exchanged a one-two with Torreira and finished for 0-3, the goal that put the derby beyond Fenerbahce, according to Daily Sabah’s account. Mourinho’s side found a reply almost immediately: Edin Dzeko converted a penalty on 63 minutes to make it 1-3, but the deficit was too steep and the closing half hour brought no further way back.
| Minute | Scorer | Team | Detail | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Dominik Livakovic (og) | Galatasaray | Torreira volley off the bar and keeper | 0-1 |
| 28 | Dries Mertens | Galatasaray | Chip after Osimhen chest pass | 0-2 |
| 59 | Gabriel Sara | Galatasaray | One-two with Torreira | 0-3 |
| 63 | Edin Dzeko | Fenerbahce | Penalty | 1-3 |
How the evening unfolded:
- KO Fenerbahce start unbeaten in the league; Galatasaray arrive with a 100 per cent record.
- 20′ Torreira’s volley off the bar goes in off Livakovic, an own goal, 0-1.
- 28′ Mertens chips Livakovic after Osimhen’s chest pass, 0-2.
- 59′ Sara finishes a one-two with Torreira to put it beyond Fenerbahce, 0-3.
- 63′ Dzeko converts a penalty for Fenerbahce, 1-3.
- FT Galatasaray win 1-3 and end Fenerbahce’s 32-match unbeaten league run.
The 32-Match Run That Ended in Kadikoy
The damage went past a single derby. Fenerbahce’s 32-match unbeaten league run was over, as Daily Sabah reported, and the table told the wider story: Galatasaray had won all six of their opening matches for 18 points, moving five points clear at the top, with Fenerbahce down in second. For Mourinho, whose reputation was built on winning the matches that define a season, losing his first meeting with the club he had been hired to overhaul was a pointed way to begin. It reframed his side’s fast start as fragile rather than settled.
The night also set a tone for a fixture that stayed combustible all season, the sort of derby heat this series keeps returning to. For more of world football’s most heated meetings, from Istanbul to Merseyside, browse our collection of football rivalries.
READ MORE: More derby days and title-race turning points in our On This Day series →
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray (2024)
What was the score in Fenerbahce v Galatasaray on 21 September 2024?
In Fenerbahce v Galatasaray on 21 September 2024, Galatasaray won 1-3 at the Ulker Stadium. A Dominik Livakovic own goal, Dries Mertens and Gabriel Sara scored for the visitors, and Edin Dzeko replied from the penalty spot for Fenerbahce. It was a Turkish Super Lig fixture, the Intercontinental Derby, on matchday six of the 2024-25 season.
Who scored in Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray on 21 September 2024?
In Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray, Dominik Livakovic put through his own net on 20 minutes off a Lucas Torreira volley, Dries Mertens made it 0-2 on 28 minutes with a chip after a Victor Osimhen chest pass, and Gabriel Sara scored the third on 59 minutes. Edin Dzeko scored Fenerbahce’s goal from a penalty on 63 minutes.
Was Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray Jose Mourinho’s first Intercontinental Derby?
Yes. Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray on 21 September 2024 was Jose Mourinho’s first Intercontinental Derby as Fenerbahce manager, and it ended in defeat, as Turkiye Today reported. Mourinho had been appointed that summer to challenge Galatasaray’s dominance, and his first meeting with them ended in a home loss.
Where was Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray played, and who refereed it?
Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray was played at Fenerbahce’s Ulker Stadium (Sukru Saracoglu) in the Kadikoy district of Istanbul, in front of 44,283 spectators. The referee was Atilla Karaoglan. It was the Turkish Super Lig fixture between the two Istanbul clubs on Saturday 21 September 2024.
Why is Fenerbahce v Galatasaray called the Intercontinental Derby?
Fenerbahce v Galatasaray is called the Intercontinental Derby because the two clubs sit on different continents within Istanbul. Fenerbahce are based in Kadikoy on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, while Galatasaray are rooted on the European side, so their Super Lig meetings pit clubs from Asia and Europe against each other in one city. The 21 September 2024 derby was one such fixture.
What unbeaten run did Fenerbahce lose in Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray?
Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray ended Fenerbahce’s 32-match unbeaten run in the Super Lig, as Daily Sabah reported. The streak had carried across the previous season into the start of 2024-25 under Jose Mourinho, and the derby defeat brought it to a close on 21 September 2024.
How did the first goal in Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray happen?
The first goal in Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray came on 20 minutes and was recorded as a Dominik Livakovic own goal. Lucas Torreira struck an effort from distance that came back off the crossbar and went in off the Fenerbahce goalkeeper, as Daily Sabah described. It gave Galatasaray a 1-0 lead they never surrendered.
Did Victor Osimhen assist a goal in Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray?
Yes. In Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray, Victor Osimhen set up the second goal with a chest pass inside the box, which Dries Mertens chipped over Dominik Livakovic on 28 minutes, according to Daily Sabah. Osimhen was on loan at Galatasaray from Napoli for the 2024-25 season and featured in the derby win.
What did the result mean for the Super Lig table in 2024-25?
After Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray, Galatasaray had won all six of their opening league matches for 18 points and led the Super Lig by five points, with Fenerbahce in second, as Daily Sabah’s summary set out. The derby win extended Galatasaray’s advantage at the top early in the 2024-25 campaign.
Who managed the two teams in Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray?
Fenerbahce were managed by Jose Mourinho and Galatasaray by Okan Buruk in the 21 September 2024 derby. It was Mourinho’s first Intercontinental Derby in charge of Fenerbahce, while Buruk’s Galatasaray came in having won every league match to that point of the season.
Was Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray Fenerbahce’s first league defeat of 2024-25?
Yes. Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray was Fenerbahce’s first Super Lig defeat of the 2024-25 season and the match that ended their 32-match unbeaten league run, as Daily Sabah reported. They had begun the campaign under Jose Mourinho without a loss before the derby at the Ulker Stadium.
Why does Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray on 21 September 2024 still matter?
Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray matters because it was Jose Mourinho’s first Intercontinental Derby, a home defeat that ended a 32-match unbeaten league run and handed Galatasaray a five-point lead. It set the early shape of the 2024-25 Super Lig title race and the tone of a rivalry that stayed fierce all season.
Fenerbahce 1-3 Galatasaray (2024)
An own goal, a Mertens chip and a Sara finish had the derby won inside the hour, and Jose Mourinho’s first meeting with Galatasaray ended a 32-match unbeaten run and his hopes of a statement start. For more nights that shaped a title race, revisit our On This Day series, and dig into more of world football’s fiercest rivalries.
Watch More Football History
The Football Documentary Channel