The African stars made significant impacts for their respective clubs at Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadyumu
Vincent Aboubakar and Rachid Ghezzal provided assists while Demba Ba found the back of the net as Besiktas secured a 3-2 victory over Istanbul Basaksehir in Friday’s Turkish Super Lig game.
Cameroon international Aboubakar has been in scintillating form for the Black Eagles and against Aykut Kocaman’s side, he continued the fine displays.
The forward was handed his 23rd league start and set up one of the goals that ensured the Black Eagles extended their winning streak to seven games.
Algeria international Ghezzal also featured prominently in the encounter while former Senegal international Ba scored for the Gray Owls but his effort was not enough to help his side avoid defeat.
The game started with both sides aiming to get an early goal but not until the 42nd minute did Besiktas opened the scoring.
Aboubakar set up Cyle Larin with a fine pass and the 25-year-old made judicious use of the opportunity, firing his effort beyond the reach of goalkeeper Volkan Babacan.
Deniz Turuc levelled proceedings for Istanbul Basaksehir in the 50th minute after receiving an assist from Danijel Aleksic.
Ghezzal then found Welinton with a fine pass and the Brazilian fired his effort into the back of the net in the 68th minute.
Ba brought Istanbul Basaksehir back into contention in the 76th minute, shortly after his introduction for Danijel Aleksic, after receiving a pass from Mehmet Topal before Souza scored the matchwinning goal for Besiktas with five minutes left to the end of the game.
Aboubakar featured for the duration of the game, struck four shots, made two key passes, completed three dribbles and had a 79 percent successful pass rate.
Ghezzal played for 90 minutes before he was replaced by Dorukhan Tokoz while the Democratic Republic of the Congo international Fabrice N'Sakala was on parade for the entirety of the game.
With the result, Besiktas opened a five-point gap at the top of the table while Istanbul Basaksehir are 16th with 29 points from 29 games.
Aboubakar has now scored 15 goals and provided five assists in 26 appearances across all competitions this season.
The Cameroon forward and Algeria winger Ghezzal will hope to help Besiktas continue their winning run when they face Istanbul Basaksehir in a Cup tie on March 16.