Victor Osimhen scored twice to give Galatasaray a deserved win over Tottenham and end the Londoners’ 100 per cent record in the Europa League.
The Nigeria striker was too powerful and too clever for a makeshift Spurs defence and, had it not been for goalkeeper Fraser Forster, the margin of victory would have been much greater.
Yunus Akgun also scored for the hosts in front of a boisterous home crowd with Will Lankshear, who was later sent-off on a bittersweet night for the teenage striker, and Dominic Solanke on target for Spurs.
The Galatasaray fans had created a typically hostile atmosphere before kick-off and the noise cranked up even further after six minutes when their side went ahead from their first serious attack.
Early setback for Spurs
A free-kick into the Tottenham area was headed clear but it fell to Akgun and he hammered a left-footed shot into the top right-hand corner from 25 yards with Forster having no chance.
It was his fourth goal of the season in the Europa League and he tried his luck again shortly afterwards but this time missed the target.
What a strike from Yunus Akgun 🚀
Galatasaray take an early lead against Tottenham thanks to an absolute rocket of a finish 😱
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— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 7, 2024
Spurs were looking nervous but, out of nowhere, they conjured up a neat equaliser.
Archie Gray’s pass picked out Brennan Johnson at the far post and his volley across goal was perfect for Lankshear to poke into the roof of the net.
It was to prove brief respite for Ange Postecoglou’s side as Galatasaray immediately regained the momentum and they could have gone back ahead after 25 minutes. Nice work from Gabriel Sara enabled Osimhen to burst through on goal with his shot well saved by Forster and Dries Mertens firing the rebound wide.
Osimhen was proving a menace for the Spurs defence and the offside flag denied him five minutes later after he latched on to Mertens’ pass.
Osimhen not to be denied
It was third time lucky for the pacy striker, who is spending the season on loan at Galatasaray from Napoli, shortly afterwards.
Mauro Icardi pinched the ball from Radu Dragusin and when it fell to Mertens, he played in Osimhen who made no mistake with a clinical finish into the bottom right-hand corner.
It was 3-1 six minutes before the break. Osimhen’s initial effort was saved by the feet of Forster but he could do nothing as Galatasaray maintained possession and Mertens, who showed he had lost nothing of his creative spark at 37 years of age, whipped in a brilliant cross that Osimhen sidefooted past Forster.
Johnson and captain Son Heung-min were hauled off by Postecoglou at half-time but it did little to change the flow of the game and Abdulkerim Bardakci had two efforts at goal after Forster flapped at Sara’s free-kick.
Osimhen fluffed the chance for a hat-trick by heading over Mertens’ cross from the right before he was then denied by a brilliant save from Forster.
Lankshear loses his head
Spurs’ hopes of navigating a route back into the game got increasingly more difficult on the hour mark when Lankshear, who was already on a yellow card, lost possession, clattered into Sara and was dismissed.
Things go from bad to worse for Tottenham 😬
19-year-old Will Lankshear receives a second yellow card and is sent off for Spurs 🟥
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— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 7, 2024
Forster saved from Akgun and Baris Yilmaz to keep Spurs in it and the visitors made the most of their goalkeeper’s excellence by pulling one back on a rare foray into the Galatasaray half.
Pedro Porro escaped down the right and his low cross was turned in cleverly by substitute Solanke.
Icardi was carried off on a stretcher before Dejan Kulusevski came agonisingly close to snatching an underserved equaliser with a long-range lob that drifted just wide with Fernando Muslera out of his goal.
