By the 20th round of the Turkish Super League, the championship race, the fight for European cup spots, and the goalscorers' competition all intensified simultaneously. For fans, it's simple: every round is a final thrill, every goal raises the rating and mood.
In this round, "Istanbul Bashakshehir," where the leaders of the Uzbekistan national team are playing, hosted "Rizespor" at their home ground. Both Abbosbek Fayzullayev and Shomurodov were included in the starting lineup. It was noted that our compatriot Husniddin Aliqulov from the visitors' ranks has not been involved in the games recently due to a serious injury.
The match started intensely, and Shomurodov opened the scoring. In the 19th minute, the 30-year-old striker converted a pass from his teammate into a goal in one move, "awakening" the stadium. But before halftime, the opponents scored the return goal, bringing the game back to its intrigue.
In the second half, there was no compromise: both teams launched several dangerous attacks and managed to score one more goal each. As a result, the match ended with a score of 2:2 - a great game for the spectators, and perhaps a heartwarming one for the coaches.
Before this match, the fight for the "Golden Boot" was also very intense. The reason was that Paul Onuachu, who was chasing Shomurodov in the top scorer race, had minimized the two-goal difference with his goal-scoring streak in the second round, maximizing the pressure. In the 20th round, he scored two penalties against Antalyaspor, one of which was converted. This brings Onuachu's total goal tally to 13, catching up to Shomurodov.
But Shomurodov also continues to prove on the field that "I am not here by chance." In particular, his goal against "Rizespor" made him the sole leader in the top scorer race again. In short: there is competition - therefore, goals will also increase. That's exactly what a fan needs.
Fenerbahçe's Brazilian legionnaire Talisca is among the pursuers with 11 goals in the fight for the "Golden Boot." It was indicated that his team will play an away match against "Kojaelispor" on February 2.
Another interesting statistic: Shomurodov has been regularly scoring during his time playing in the Super League and has managed to score against most of the 17 opposing teams. Specifically, the goalkeepers of Beshiktosh, Alanyaspor, Konyaspor, Galatasaray, Eyupspor, Gyoztepe, Genchlerbirligi, Trabzonspor, Kasimpasha, Samsunspor, Gaziantep, and Karagyumryuk cleared the ball after his shot. Now Rizespor has been added to this list - a "key" was found in the second half for an opponent who couldn't score in the first round.
It was also noted that opponents like Fenerbahçe, who failed to score in the first round, also aim to score in the second round. And "Kaiseryspor" is currently the only team in the league that has kept Shomurodov in a tight spot in both matches - therefore, a separate plan will be needed to break him up in the future.
For information, Bashakshehir will play their next match away against Eyupspor on February 8th. The scoring race isn't just a number - psychology plays a role in every round. But Shomurodov is currently turning the pressure into a goal - this is the biggest response.
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