Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen fired his side, Galatasaray, past Premier League champions Liverpool in their UEFA Champions League match played on Tuesday night, www.aclsports.com reports.
The former Napoli man scored the game’s only goal in Istanbul to steer his side to a precious win at home against Arne Slot’s side.
In his first start since he went off injured in Nigeria’s September World Cup Qualifier against Rwanda in Uyo, Osimhen left his mark on the contest before going off injured once again.
After suffering their first Premier League defeat of the season in their away clash with Crystal Palace, Liverpool were left uncomfortable early on at the Rams Park. Goalkeeper Alisson was forced into an early save on Barış Yılmaz in a one-on-one situation.
Just minutes later, Yılmaz was brought down in the box by Liverpool’s makeshift right-back Dominik Szoboszlai – moments after Cody Gakpo saw his effort cleared off the line. Osimhen was given the responsibility, and he sent his penalty down the middle to hand his side the lead. It was also his sixth goal in as many matches against English opposition.
After the break, Osimhen latched onto a poor pass and raced through to fire a shot at Alisson, who picked up a game-ending injury in the process of making the save. Consequently, Slot had to hand Giorgi Mamardashvili his first UCL appearance. Despite multiple subs, the Reds struggled for the remainder of the contest as the Turkish side went on to secure the win.
Meanwhile, Osimhen picked up an injury minutes after the hour mark, and moments later, he was replaced by Mauro Icardi in the 72nd minute. Given the recent twist in the race for qualification, it remains to be seen whether he will be fit for Nigeria’s crunch 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Benin in October.
