Kelechi Iheanacho Shines Again as Bursaspor Draws in Antalya
Kelechi Iheanacho needed only one clean sight of goal to remind Turkey why his name has been all over the score sheets for weeks. One chance, one touch, one finish – and Bursaspor were in front.
It came in the 26th minute at the Antalya Stadium. Amine Boutrah drifted into space and picked his moment, sliding in a teasing delivery. Iheanacho, alive to the angle and the weight of the pass, met it with the kind of composure that has defined his Turkish adventure. The Green-and-Whites led 1-0, and their Nigerian talisman was smiling again.
He might have been celebrating earlier.
Bursaspor had started with intent, and Iheanacho was at the heart of it. He rattled the side post with a sharp effort as the visitors tried to seize control, his movement constantly dragging Antalyaspor’s back line into uncomfortable positions. Every time the ball went near him, there was a sense something might snap in Bursaspor’s favour.
The pressure almost told again just six minutes after his opener. Boutrah once more found Iheanacho in a dangerous pocket, the understanding between the pair clear, but this time the finish lacked the precision. The chance drifted away, and with it an opportunity to put the game firmly in Bursaspor’s hands.
They paid for that wastefulness right on the stroke of half-time.
Antalyaspor, who had been hanging on at times, finally punched back. Toral Bayramov got the telling touch, his effort beating goalkeeper Kerem Matışlı and dragging the hosts level at 1-1 just before the break. The goal shifted the mood inside the stadium and reset a contest Bursaspor had threatened to run away with.
Iheanacho, though, refused to fade.
The former Leicester City striker kept demanding the ball, kept asking questions of the defence. Early in the second half, he thought he had answered them emphatically. Another crisp finish, another instinctive strike – and for a few fleeting moments, it looked like Bursaspor’s lead had been restored.
Then came the flag.
The effort was ruled out for offside after an infringement in the build-up, cutting short the celebrations and leaving Iheanacho with only the one official goal to his name on the night. From there, the game tightened. Half-chances came and went at both ends, the tempo dipped, and the final whistle arrived with the score locked at 1-1.
For Bursaspor, it felt like two points dropped. For Iheanacho, it felt like a restart.
The Nigerian forward had seen his extraordinary scoring streak snapped in the 3-0 win over Bandırmaspor last weekend, a run of 16 goals in 12 consecutive league matches that carved his name into Turkish football history. No player had ever put together a sequence quite like it in the league; every match, every week, he found a way to score.
This, then, was goal number 17 of his league campaign. Not the winner he wanted, not the headline-grabber his form often deserves, but a timely reminder of his enduring threat and rhythm in front of goal.
Since arriving in Turkey, Iheanacho has grown into Bursaspor’s attacking reference point. He drops deep to link play, drifts wide to create space, then bursts into the box with the timing of a seasoned finisher. Defenders know what’s coming. They still struggle to stop it.
The draw in Antalya will frustrate a side with ambitions of pushing higher in the TFF 1. Lig table, yet the sight of their leading striker back on the scoresheet will calm any nerves about his momentum fading.
The record-breaking streak is gone. A new one can start. And if his current form is any guide, few would bet against Kelechi Iheanacho stringing together another run that drags Bursaspor deeper into the promotion conversation.
