Archive January 27, 2026

Needing a positive result to avoid the Champions League knockout play-offs, Galatasaray are not the side Manchester City would choose to face.

In four recent meetings between Premier League clubs and the Turkish giants, Galatasaray are unbeaten. You must go back to December 2014 – a 4-1 win for Arsenal in Istanbul – for the last time an English side triumphed.

In 2023, Galatasaray finished above Manchester United in their Champions League group – sending Erik ten Hag’s men packing in last place – thanks to a 3-2 win in their most recent visit to the north-west before taking on Manchester City this Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

A chaotic 3-3 draw in Turkey followed. Then last season, they inflicted the only Europa League group phase defeat on eventual champions Tottenham.

Most recently, earlier in this Champions League campaign, Galatasaray outplayed an off-colour Liverpool to win 1-0 thanks to Victor Osimhen’s first half penalty.

So why do Cimbom – the enigmatic nickname for Turkey’s most successful football club – have such a good record against English teams?

According to assistant manager Ismael Garcia Gomez, it is because the Turkish league is the most English outside England – and Galatasaray is the most English Turkish club of all.

“I think sometimes with the more dynamic, transitional games we face against teams from England, we are very used to that,” Garcia Gomez told BBC Sport.

“The Turkish league is not at the same level, but we are more Premier League than all other European leagues, more than Italy and Spain where the tempo is lower. English teams, the ones we face, we feel comfortable because they are open.

“I have never had the experience of working in English men’s football, but I have experienced it as a fan. England is for the fans, the football for fans is the best.

Thousands of Galatasaray fans will bring that passion to Manchester this week.

After a shock loss at Bodo/Glimt, Manchester City find themselves in 11th place and outside the top eight on goal difference. They are one of eight teams on 13 points in a congested table with three points separating third from 15th.

City need to win their final league phase fixture and hope other results go their way to avoid going through the knockout play-offs.

Galatasaray meanwhile are 17th on 10 points, after a run of three successive European wins – sparked by victory over Liverpool – has given way to three winless matches.

The top eight is realistically out of reach, but avoiding defeat will secure a play-off spot.

Like when they faced Liverpool, Galatasaray will be playing a Premier League side out of form but Garcia Gomez is wary of City’s style of play, which is atypical of most English teams.

“Their priority is to control the game, so it will be more difficult,” he said.

“It’s going to be very different. When we were facing Liverpool in October it was a different moment in the season. The pressure is now to win three points and maybe qualify for the next round.

“For them it is same importance to get in top eight as it is for us to get to the next round. Of course we are the underdog, it is the same for 95% of clubs City face – a draw is a good result. But if we are at a good level we can face anything, we are very confident.”

Galatasaray also have two key players who know Manchester City very well – Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan.

Sane, who won two Premier League titles in four seasons with City, has played 90 minutes in each of Galatasaray’s past five Champions League games.

At 35, Gundogan is less of a mainstay but offers impressive grit and experience to Galatasaray’s midfield. He is back on familiar ground, having left City for Istanbul last season following a second spell under Pep Guardiola.

Gundogan is a modern City hero, helping them win the 2023 Champions League plus five English domestic titles.

“Sane and Gundogan have been massive signings,” said Garcia Gomez. “Sane, he was out of contract, and a lot of teams tried to sign him – he has been one of the best players in the past five years in Europe

“Gundogan, Guardiola said he is most intelligent player he coached. They are giving us the highest level of quality. That experience on the non-football side is helping.”

In total there are six former Premier League players in the Galatasaray first team squad. Alongside Sane and Gundogan, are former Spurs defender Davinson Sanchez and midfielders Lucas Torreira, Mario Lemina and Gabriel Sara – formerly of Arsenal, Wolves and Norwich respectively.

“Premier League teams and players, they suit well in Super Lig,” says Garcia Gomez. “Physical and dynamic players are working well here.

“Sane is good one on one, while Gundogan gives a lot of control to his team. For the fans it is lovely, I have friends from all over Europe who love watching games in Turkey.”

Watch highlights of every Champions League game from 22:00 GMT on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.

Extreme heat impacted the Australian Open again on Tuesday, with the tournament reaching its maximum “heat stress” rating.

Temperatures in Melbourne reached 42.7C and could reach as high as 45C.

The start of the wheelchair events, featuring British defending champions Alfie Hewett, Gordon Reid and Andy Lapthorne, have been postponed until Wednesday.

Play on the outside courts, where the junior matches are taking place, has been moved forward to 09:00 local time (22:00 GMT) and were completed before the highest temperatures arrived.

The four singles quarter-finals – which include world number ones Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka – and various doubles matches take place on Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court Arena, both of which have retractable roofs.

The roof on Laver was closed at 13:30 local time, shortly after Sabalenka completed a 6-3 6-0 victory over Iva Jovic, and stayed shut for Alexander Zverev’s match against Learner Tien.

Temperatures previously reached 40C on Saturday, with play on the outside courts postponed for about five hours.

The heat scale measures four factors – radiant heat (or the strength of the sun), air temperature in the shade, relative humidity, and wind speed – to decide when conditions have become too challenging.

Although all players are affected by the temperature extremes, Lapthorne has highlighted the additional physical challenges facing wheelchair competitors.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, the 35-year-old defending quad wheelchair men’s doubles champion said: “There are players within our category that can’t sweat if they’ve got a spinal cord injury.

“They don’t have the ability to cool down, so it can be quite dangerous if they’re in really extreme heat.

“I’ve had [cramp] in my forearms before because we’re pushing a wheelchair as well as hitting the ball and once that gets hold you, it can be very difficult to stop.”

While the tournament organisers have been proactive in responding to the weather, not only altering schedules but also providing numerous facilities to help fans cool down, not all players will get the benefit of playing under a roof.

“Do you know who suffers the most? The junior players. They are trying to play two junior matches at 09:00, before coming back at 18:30 and hoping it will cool down,” BBC Sport’s tennis correspondent Russell Fuller told the Australian Open Daily podcast.

“Those on at 09:00, it’s still going to be boiling. It is tough for the juniors under those conditions. Some of them are 15, 16 years of age.”

Men’s second seed Jannik Sinner was among those impacted by the temperature on Saturday and admitted he “got lucky with the heat rule” during his four-set victory over world number 85 Eliot Spizzirri in the third round.

The Italian defending champion, who had lost the opening set, was a break down in the third and struggling with cramp when the scale hit its maximum, forcing the umpire to call play to a halt.

Sinner left the court during the eight-minute delay while the roof was closed on Rod Laver Arena and broke back immediately when play resumed before going on to win 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4.

Under the roof, the temperature dropped to about 26C during the fourth set.

British junior Hollie Smart was also in action on Saturday and was forced to retire from her first-round match against Japan’s Azuna Ichioka in the third set after struggling with cramp, leaving the court in tears.

If you take a look at Tuesday you can see that the wind is coming in from the north, that’s because the very warm, dry interior of Australia is really heating up, with temperatures in the 40Cs in Alice Springs.

When you get that northerly wind, all of the heat is dragged down to Melbourne.

But when the wind switches to a southerly, we have colder air coming through from the Antarctic, and from Tasmania – and that’s why we get these huge temperature swings in Melbourne in particular.

After every round of Premier League matches this season, BBC football pundit Troy Deeney will give you his team and manager of the week.

Ian Maatsen (Aston Villa): He hasn’t actually been a regular. He does so much going forward for Villa with his crossing. He’s not really known for his defending but I thought he shackled Harvey Barnes and put him in his back pocket.

Ola Aina (Nottingham Forest): The Brentford team he faced are well known for getting crosses in from the wide areas. I thought he defended excellently at the far post in Forest’s 2-0 win, cleared everything. He was good at dealing with how people tried to run at him. He offered a lot going forward, too.

Marc Guehi (Manchester City): I know it’s Wolves, so he gets a little less credit, but to instantly come in and get a clean sheet, you just saw the togetherness he brings. A lot of pressure on him going into a game where they have to win. He comes in and City get their first clean sheet in the Premier League since 1 January.

Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa): He was the best player on the pitch by a country mile. He’s slowly become Villa’s most important player. He dictates the play, breaks it up, and does everything right. Very, very good player and that pains me to say as a Birmingham City fan.

Ibrahim Sangare (Nottingham Forest): Lost him during Afcon and it wasn’t the same midfield. He is a pitbull next to Elliot Anderson; he does all of the ugly stuff and breaks it up. A fantastic footballer and part of a solid defensive unit, which obviously Forest needed.

Emiliano Buendia (Aston Villa): Scored unbelievable goals, all vital for their team’s attacking outlet. Buendia, for me, just showed that little bit of class and magic. I love to see players taking a risk.

Patrick Dorgu (Manchester United): He’s been unbelievable since Michael Carrick came in. That goal in the win at Arsenal was unbelievable and worthy of winning any football match in the world.

Swimmer Emily Barclay has been named as the latest British athlete to join the controversial Enhanced Games.

The 28-year-old won a gold medal in the 50m freestyle at the 2019 British Championships, before competing for the University of Arkansas in the United States.

Two other British athletes – sprinter Reece Prescod and fellow Olympic swimmer Ben Proud – have already signed up for the event, which allows participants to take performance-enhancing drugs that are banned in mainstream sport.

Its inaugural competition is scheduled to take place in Las Vegas in May.

Barclay is one of three swimmers included in the latest group of athletes announced by the Enhanced Games, alongside two Olympians – Bulgarian Antani Ivanov and Mexican Miguel de Lara Ojeda.

Two female sprinters – Jasmine Abrams of Guyana and Denae McFarlane of Jamaica – are also included.

“As our athletes move through medical review we continue to add elite competitors from across the globe,” said Rick Adams, Enhanced’s chief sporting officer.

“Consistent with previous announcements, this group of athletes appreciates our flexible model that provides them with unmatched and sustained medical supervision, training, nutrition, recovery and financial support.

“We’re delighted to have Antani, Denae, Emily, Jasmine and Miguel in our inaugural swimming and sprinting fields.”

The Enhanced Games launched as a concept in 2023, with some doping measures permitted under medical supervision.

Only substances approved by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can be taken, which is different to the list the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) allows for elite athletes.

Organisers have claimed the event “will deliver transparency and health safety by removing the stigma of enhancement – bringing its responsible usage into the light, within an approved medical framework, and one that protects athletes who would otherwise risk their health by operating in the dark to circumvent punitive structures in place today”.

However, the event has been criticised for endangering athletes’ health and undermining fair play, with Wada describing it as a “dangerous and irresponsible project” and Travis Tygart, chief executive of the US Anti-Doping Agency, calling it a “clown show”.

Earlier this month, UK Athletics (UKA) said it did not recognise the Enhanced Games as a “legitimate sporting competition”.

UKA said it “places athletes’ health and welfare at serious risk”, adding that “any event that promotes or permits the use of harmful substances with the aim of pushing the human body to its limit for short-term goals is not sport as we value it”.

The Enhanced Games are planned to be an annual competition, initially comprising short-distance swimming, sprinting and weightlifting, with the inaugural event set to be held in Las Vegas on 24 May.

The event offers appearance fees and bonuses, with Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev receiving a prize of $1m (£739,000) for beating a world record time in the US in February 2025.