Victor Osimhen Seals Victory For Galatasaray Against Liverpool

 

Galatasaray lived up to the challenge from Liverpool, taking a 1-0 victory over their Premier  League counterparts in the second game of the UEFA Champions League. 

Victor Osimhen’s penalty in the 16th minute separated the sides, but that only tells half the story. This was a night when European football felt alive again in front of the crowd inside the Ali Sami Stadium. 

The breakthrough came early. After Dominik Szoboszlai’s clumsy arm made contact with Yilmaz during a surging Gala break, the referee pointed to the spot. Osimhen stepped up, then bang straight down the middle. 1-0. 

It could have been worse. Galatasaray pressed relentlessly. Osimhen twice pounced on defensive blunders, while Liverpool’s midfield flailed under the pressure. Wirtz and Ekitike both went close at the other end, but the Reds lacked fluency in the final third.

Slot rang the changes early in the second half. Salah, Isak, and Bradley entered to revamp the energy and directness. The shift was instant. Liverpool finally dominated possession. Salah began slicing through defenders like a hot knife through simit. Yet time and again, Gala’s defence, led heroically by Davinson Sánchez, stood tall.