Galatasaray got the weekend underway with what was, on paper, a tough trip away to third-place Samsunspor on Friday evening.
Having beaten Fenerbahce in the Turkish Cup in their last game, the feel-good factor around the club was gradually being restored following a string of poor results, and that resumed into their clash with Samsun.
In the end, Galatasaray cruised to a mightily impressive 2-0 win, and it was, without a doubt, their best Super Lig performance in months.
For 90 minutes, the two-time defending champions were in cruise control, dictating the tempo of the game and barely giving their opponents a sniff on goal. It felt like a statement win, with Yunus Akgun and Victor Osimhen both scoring.
Manager Okan Buruk has gone back to basics, returning players to their best positions and putting a stop to all the experimenting with the team.
Mario Lemina has been restored to the starting XI and was utterly imperious in midfield. Lucas Torreira also looks very comfortable next to him, and they are beginning to form a strong partnership. It beggars belief that the former was dropped for a few games.
Osimhen is still a force of nature up front, while left-back Eren Elmali keeps putting in exceptional performance after exceptional performance since signing from Trabzonspor in January.
Galatasaray have a history of hitting top form at the perfect time in the run-in, and the vibes they exuded against Samsunspor show they could be doing it again. No more messing about, they have their eyes on the prize.
Samsun still remain in a fabulous position and are on course for a marvellous season, with Europa League football potentially on the horizon. Manager Thomas Reis has done a great job.
Meanwhile, title challengers Fenerbahce are at a point now where they simply cannot afford to drop points, and they continued to keep the pressure on with a 3-1 victory at relegation-threatened Sivasspor.
Keeping with a lot of their performances under Jose Mourinho, it wasn't always convincing, but they got the job done.
Anderson Talisca followed on where he left off after his hat-trick against Trabzonspor last week, opening the scoring with a lovely free kick on the cusp of the break. Dusan Tadic then scored twice in the second half, with a spectacular Sivasspor goal sandwiched in between to momentarily give Fenerbahce a fright.
Interestingly, Mourinho has moved back to a back-four formation in recent games, and as a result, Youssef En-Nesyri has played just 10 minutes in the last two games, with Edin Dzeko leading the line.
Trying to find a way to get the likes of Talisca and Tadic back in the team, it seems En-Nesyri has been sacrificed, despite being Fenerbahce's top scorer this season.
Besiktas keep spiralling
Things couldn't be going much worse for Besiktas at the moment. On Saturday, the 16-time Super Lig champions fell to an utterly dismal 2-0 home loss to Istanbul Basaksehir, as winger Yusuf Sari scored twice.
Besiktas now have just one win in their last six games, a run that also includes four losses.
Fans were rightly furious, with a small portion staying after the game. Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the players proceeded to go over to speak to them, as they expressed their dissatisfaction with their performances and results.
It has been a pretty abject season for Besiktas, and barring a bit of a new manager bounce under Ole, the club are in bad shape.
"Tonight, our fans are rightly disappointed. Yes, we are having a difficult season. Now we have to wait for the summer and do something in the summer. Medicine will not save this team," Ole said after the game.
"The team needs a major surgery. If you don't run, tackle, and bite the opponent, you won't win a match. That's the rule of football.
"Our fans are unhappy. And they have the right to be. We understand them, and our players understand them."
He is absolutely right. Besides Rafa Silva and Gedson Fernandes, there is a real lack of quality in the team. The players are lazy and rarely give any effort unless they're playing Galatasaray or Fenerbahce. They need a massive overhaul once the window opens.
A win would have seen them climb into third place, but after Eyupspor's 6-0 thumping of Adana Demirspor on Monday night, Besiktas dropped into fifth.
Speaking of Eyupspor, Arda Turan keeps proving why he is such a highly rated young coach in Turkey. In their debut season in the Super Lig, they are sitting fourth in the table. Never in their wildest dreams would they have believed this when they got promoted, especially after losing star player Ahmed Kutucu to Galatasaray in January.
If Turan can end the season well and secure European football for his side, it would be an achievement of the highest order. Even if they miss out, what he has done this season is remarkable, and he deserves heaps of praise.
Highlight of the week
Sivasspor may have lost the game against Fenerbahce, but Efkan Bekiroglu stole the show with this truly astonishing strike from miles out.
Team of the week
Emre Akbaba is Flashscore's player of the week after producing a rare 10 out of 10 performance in his side's thumping of Adana Demirspor. The former Galatasaray player ran the show, scoring twice and producing an assist.
Teammate Mame Thiam, who has 14 league goals this season, is also included, while Dusan Tadic and Yunus also find a place in the starting XI.
Trabzonspor duo Mustafa Eskihellac and Oleksandr Zubkov make appearances following their vital roles in a 2-0 win over Rizespor.