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Champions League: A Gala night in Istanbul
First Champions League home win in seven years for Galatasaray leads to Liverpool’s second successive defeat
Kolkata: “It’s a famous night in Istanbul but it hasn’t gone Liverpool’s way.” One of the last sentences from the television commentator summed up Tuesday’s 0-1 defeat.
The miracle of 20 years ago – Rafa Benitez struggling for the right words in English at half-time to rouse a team trailing 0-3 in a Champions League final, Liverpool’s fans defiantly playing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone”, the stirring fightback before the win on penalties – will endure but Galatasaray’s first home win in the Champions League in seven years has left the Premier League champions with points to ponder.
Victor Osimhen’s 16th minute penalty came after Baris Alper Yilmaz broke swiftly and was fouled by Dominik Szoboszlai. Alisson had denied the masked Nigerian from the spot in 2022 but he drilled one down the middle at Rams Park.
At €75m Osimhen is one of the big buys at a club that like Real Madrid in 2001 have funded purchases by selling their training ground. At €27.5m goalkeeper Ugurgan Cakir is another. Managed by Okan Buruk, the Turkish champions have spent more than PSG, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan. They lead Turkey’s Super Lig with an all-win record after seven matches.
To be sure, it is not a crisis at Liverpool. They have lost two successive matches only once before under Arne Slot. One of those was on penalties against Paris St-Germain (PSG) and the other was the defeat to Newcastle in the EFL Cup final. Liverpool lead the league and this defeat should not come in the way of a berth in the Champions League knockout rounds. Their lack of coherence is not unusual for a squad that has a number of new players. As is Slot trying to ensure players stay fresh.
But with Chelsea and Manchester United up next at home and Eintracht Frankfurt, who beat Galatasaray 5-1, in Europe, Liverpool will need to find solutions in central defence, improve their ability to keep the ball, be more compact when they do not have it and increase sharpness in front of goal.
About the last bit, first. With 67% possession, Liverpool had four shots on target which is also what the home team managed. Galatasaray did that from nine attempts, Liverpool needed 16. Florian Wirtz had another poor night, Hugo Ekitike faded after a bright first half and Alexander Isak is far from his best.
Szoboszlai at right-back had been a decision forced by injury to Jeremie Frimpong and the Hungarian captain had done well in the two games he played in that position. But using him in defence tends to make Liverpool weaker in the centre. Look no farther than how often they lost possession in the middle on Tuesday. Also, Yilmaz looked to have Szoboszlai’s number. The Turkish winger with bleached hair had broken through once earlier but Alisson had foiled the attempt.
Frimpong was preferred to Mohamed Salah making it the first time in three years the Egyptian had not started a Champions League match that was not inconsequential. But for all his promise, Frimpong’s final ball lacked quality.
Liverpool have not kept a clean sheet in their last five matches and have had two in their first 10. Late goals have helped paper over losing leads but Crystal Palace ended that incredible run at the weekend. On Tuesday, they had conceded moments after they could have been ahead but Ekitike, chosen ahead of Isak, was denied by Cakir and then Ismail Jacobs had cleared Cody Gakpo’s drive from the goalline.
Through the night, Liverpool struggled to break Galatasaray’s press. Ibrahima Konate has lost form and it was his poor pass meant for Ryan Gravenberch that Osimhen intercepted. But for Alisson, it would have been a brace for the 26-year-old. The save had the Liverpool goalie being injured and replaced by Giorgi Mamardashvili.
“The margins were very small last season but then we were a lot of times on the right side of the score,” said Slot. “Today again the margins were really small, but for the second time in a row on the wrong side.”
