Beşiktaş Beat Kocaelispor 2-1 at Home

In matchday 7 of the Trendyol Süper Lig, Beşiktaş hosted Kocaelispor at Tüpraş Stadium. Both sides entered the match aiming to finish the week in second place, leading to a fiercely contested encounter. In the end, Beşiktaş emerged victorious with a 2-1 scoreline.

The home side's goals came from Orkun Kökçü in the 18th minute and Dusan Vlahovic in the 31st minute. The win took Beşiktaş to 15 points, leaving them just one point behind league leaders Galatasaray at the end of the week. The team now faces two important fixtures: they will take on Hoffenheim on Thursday, October 15 at 22:00 Turkish time, before traveling to face Trabzonspor in matchday 8 of the league.

Italian midfielder Fabio Miretti drew attention during the match. Having joined Beşiktaş at the start of the season, Miretti had come off the bench in all three of his previous appearances this term. Against Kocaelispor, however, he made his first start of the season after being picked by head coach Vincenzo Italiano. According to reports, Miretti's impressive tempo during international break training sessions played a role in earning him a starting spot.

Beninese midfielder Junior Olaitan, by contrast, began the match on the bench. He had started 12 of the 13 matches Beşiktaş played across all competitions this season, with his only other substitute appearance coming in the 1-0 defeat to Alanyaspor. Alongside captain Orkun Kökçü and Salih Özcan, Olaitan has established himself as a key midfield figure this season, making his benching notable.

In their first home match since the international break, Beşiktaş supporters filled much of the stadium and backed their team throughout. Fans chanted in support of the players before kickoff and celebrated enthusiastically once the match got underway. Kocaelispor supporters in the away section also cheered on their team throughout the contest.