Turkish press: "Beşiktaş" will have fun with "Kaunas Žalgiris"

2026-08-19 00:25 © zalgiris.lt

The Turkish media does not expect miracles from the "Kaunas Žalgiris" team.

It is predicted that in the first leg of the European League knockout stage on Thursday, Istanbul "Beşiktaş" will decisively defeat the representatives of "Top Liga" at home.

According to the "Fotospor" portal, "Kaunas Žalgiris" has no trump cards and is only marked by gaps in the player roster.

It is stated that the Lithuanian team's defenders are slow and do not know how to defend in a zonal principle. Joris Moutachy and Nos Edokpolor look particularly poor – they will become a real headache for the guests on the flanks of the "Beşiktaş" attack.

In the midfield, Vykintas Slivka and Fedoras Černychas try to build play, but they lack the strength to maintain a consistent tempo throughout the match. Meanwhile, physically weak Yukiyoshi Karashima and Gratas Sirgėdas will allow the hosts to dominate the midfield.

It is written that there are quite talented players in attack in the "Kaunas Žalgiris" roster (Renan Oliveira, Gabriel Debeljuh, and Haris Kadrič), but without creative players, it is impossible to organize effective attacks.

The forwards do not receive enough passes either from the flanks or from the center of the field, so the attempts of the Kaunas team become nearly zero against higher-level teams.

According to the Turks, the decision-making and opportunity conversion quality of Amine Benchaib and Motiejus Burba in important attacking phases also do not meet the level of the European League tournament.

The first match between the teams will take place on August 20 at 19:50 Lithuanian time in the Turkish capital, and the return match will be played on August 27 at 19:50 at Darius and Girėnas Stadium.