In a raucous Champions League game in Istanbul, Victor Osimhen scored a penalty to help Galatasaray defeat a prone-to-error Liverpool, who lost goalkeeper Alisson and striker Hugo Ekitike to injury.
When Baris Alper Yilmaz went down in the 16th minute of the match on Tuesday, the masked Nigerian striker blasted the ball past a diving Alisson when he stepped up.
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Mohamed Salah was on the bench for Liverpool after Crystal Palace’s first-league defeat of the season at the weekend, replacing Alexander Isak, who had signed for the record.
After Alisson had been injured and was replaced by Giorgi Mamardashvili in the 56th minute, Salah made a triple substitution for Liverpool’s starting right wing Jeremie Frimpong.
Ekitike, who was back in the starting lineup after serving a domestic suspension, went off injured in the 68th, a bloody night for the visitors, who had their chances but looked alarmingly vulnerable in defense.
The Turkish side’s victory over their opponents, who were unbeaten in all competitions up until last weekend and who were now facing two losses in a row, was a notable one.
Galatasaray could have won the game when Yilmaz snuck in with Alisson in the second minute while keeping the defense at bay.
In the 13th minute, when Ekitike miscued the ball after entering a scoring position, and Cody Gakpo had a shot that was saved off the line on the rebound, Liverpool missed a rare opportunity of their own.
When Osimhen rose up and lifted the already exploding crowd, Liverpool was almost in control before falling behind.
On the eve of half-time, the visitors had a chance to equalize when another Ekitike shot was blocked and Ibrahima Konate missed from close range, but they continued to look vulnerable and conceded a free kick on the edge of the area.
As Galatasaray worked tirelessly to maintain pressure in the second half, Liverpool was still looking nervous in defense and with loose passing. Despite this, there were many substitutions in the second half but no change on the pitch.
After Alisson had saved from Osimhen, Ekitike pulled away after stretching for the ball.
Referee Clement Turpin pointed the ball home in the 88th minute, but a VAR review determined that Wilfried Singo had played the ball prior to Ibrahima Konate, who had equalized.
Before the kickoff, Galatasaray supporters chanted “Is this the end of the world,” and supporters of the club also paid tribute to the late Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva.
Arne Slot, the manager of Liverpool, claimed that Szoboszlai “did nothing wrong” by giving the penalty and that he was “disappointed” with the outcome.
When Yilmaz felt a slight flick in his face, he fell. In such a scenario, he claimed, “we can occasionally be a little outsmarted.” In such a circumstance, “I cannot blame Dom.”
Virgil Van Dijk, the captain of Liverpool, stated that his team needed to stop the errors rather than panic.
He told Amazon Prime, “I hate losing, but there shouldn’t be panic and improvement is needed.”
“The willingness and the hard work that we put in compared to the weekend gave us a significant boost tonight.”
We must now convert chances and occasionally avoid making foolish errors. We must continue in this process.
In other games, Bayern cruised to a 5-1 victory over Pafos in Cyprus and Madrid brushed off any travel fatigue with a 5-0 victory over Kairat Almaty in Kazakhstan.
In their first Champions League encounter ever held inside the Arctic Circle, Tottenham Hotspur came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Bodo/Glimt with an 89th-minute own goal.
Diego Simeone, the coach who received a suspended sentence for an altercation with a Liverpool fan, was watching from the stands as Atletico Madrid defeated Eintracht Frankfurt to record a 5-1 victory.
On his return to Stamford Bridge with his Benfica team, Jose Mourinho gave a warm welcome to Chelsea supporters.
A Benfica player scored, but Richard Rios’ own goal gave Chelsea the lead, who had Joao Pedro sent off late, with a 1-0 win.
