On Matchday 21 of the Turkish Super League at the Istanbul Ataturk Stadium, both sides staged an attacking football in the first half, but failed to find the net due to poor finishing. When stopper Ersan Gülüm received a red card in the 44th minute, the Black Eagles had to play the rest of the match a man short. The score remained goalless at the interval.
 
The second half saw the short-handed Beşiktaş defending deep and relying on counter-attacks. This tactic paid off after 72 minutes when Hugo Almeida put them 1-0 up with a brilliant sliding effort from the 6-yard box. It was Portuguese centre-forward’s 12th goal of the season. The visitors desperately pressed for an equaliser in the remaining minutes, but their attempts would end up in the hands of goalkeeper Tolga Zengin as the Eagles picked up another valuable three points and stayed close to the top.