By Galatasaray clinched a 3-2 victory over a 10-man Tottenham in a high-octane Europa League clash, with Victor Osimhen’s first-half double propelling the Turkish side to their first-ever win over Spurs in European competition.
The hosts struck first with a stunning volley from Yunus Akgun in the sixth minute, but Tottenham’s 19-year-old striker Will Lankshear quickly equalized, tapping in his debut goal after a cross from Brennan Johnson. Despite Tottenham’s response, Galatasaray continued to press forward and soon regained the lead when Osimhen capitalized on a defensive error with a clever finish, before adding a second just before halftime with a cushioned volley from Dries Mertens’ cross.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou made changes at halftime, bringing on Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur, but Spurs struggled to keep up with Galatasaray’s intensity. Lankshear was shown a second yellow card in the 65th minute, leaving Tottenham a man down. Despite this setback, Spurs managed to reduce the deficit when Dominic Solanke flicked in Pedro Porro’s cross to make it 3-2. Kulusevski nearly snatched an equalizer in injury time, but his long-range shot went just wide with Galatasaray goalkeeper Fernando Muslera out of position.
Postecoglou lamented his team’s performance, attributing the loss to “self-inflicted errors” and missed opportunities to retain possession. “We just needed to be stronger on the ball,” he said. On Lankshear’s red card, Postecoglou acknowledged the youngster’s hard work and expressed hope he would learn from the experience.
Key Stats:
- Galatasaray have won three of their first four European games for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
- Tottenham faced 28 shots, the most under Postecoglou, and the highest faced by an English team in a Europa League group stage match since Everton in 2014.
- Victor Osimhen has now scored 12 goals in European competition, with five coming against English teams.
- Will Lankshear (19 years, 201 days) became the third-youngest player to score and be sent off in a Europa League game.
