In Victor Osimhen’s absence, Galatasaray’s 33-match unbeaten run at home came to an end last night as Royale Union Saint-Gilloise claimed a deserved 1-0 victory at Rams Park in the UEFA Champions League.
Osimhen has remained the talisman for the Istanbul giants, scoring six goals in the UEFA Champions League and his absence due to the hamstring injury he picked up in Nigeria’s final World Cup Playoff clash with DR Congo in Rabat, Morocco early this month, was going to impact negatively on Gala in the Tuesday home fixture.
The contrasting form of the two sides in this season’s competition to date suggested a comfortable evening for the home side; however, it was the Belgians who had the better of the opening 45 minutes.
Their first opportunity arrived with the half-hour mark approaching when a cross into the area took a deflection and looped into the path of Promise David, who should have done better as he directed his close-range effort just wide of the right post.
The Lions’ three consecutive Champions League wins were as many as they had managed in their previous 33 main-draw matches, and although their play in the first 45 minutes didn’t match the heights of their campaign so far, Galatasaraydid come close to opening the scoring when Gabriel Sara’s left-footed effort from range came back off the right post.
Having had a reminder of the hosts’ threat, it was the visitors’ turn to hit the woodwork as Ross Sykes’ header from a corner crashed back off the crossbar to deny the Unionistesa half-time lead.
The current Turkish Super Lig leaders knew they had to improve in the second half; however, they fell behind 12 minutes after the restart.
