Tottenham Hotspur were dealt a 3-2 defeat by Galatasaray in their Europa League clash in front of a raucous atmosphere in Istanbul, after two goals from Victor Osimhen in eight minutes punished the north London side who were architects of their own downfall and fans have seen enough after what their defender did.
Both teams entered the contest undefeated so far through the European campaign, though Spurs had won all three of their last outings, whilst Galatasaray had won two and drawn one.
Spurs were without teenager Mikey Moore due to illness, while Timo Werner was also another absentee for Ange Postecoglou, with the German dealing with a groin issue, joining a whole host of names on the treatment table, including Richarlison, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven. Light in attack, Tottenham academy graduate Will Lankshear was handed just his second start of the 2024/25 season.
For the home side, there were some familiar friends and foes, with former Spurs defender Davinson Sanchez in the centre of the back three, while former Arsenal player Lucas Torreira was deployed in central midfield. Ex-Chelsea players Hakim Ziyech and Michy Batshuayi were on the bench.
Despite having the attacking trio of Dries Mertens, Victor Osimhen and Mauro Icardi, it was Yunus Akgun who opened the scoring in just the sixth minute, with a thunderous half-volley from distance that blazed into the top corner after Galatasaray’s free kick was headed out by Archie Gray. The thunderbolt came so quickly that Fraser Forster simply couldn’t adjust his feet quickly enough.
Spurs struggled to play under the threatening atmosphere imposed on them by the Galatasaray ultras in attendance, but insisted on playing out from the back, though it would cause them quite a few issues, with them giving away the ball in some dangerous areas.
But in one of their rare early attacks, Gray found the space to put in a delicious ball over the top, finding Brennan Johnson, who was able to breeze past his defender, and opted to square it across for Lankshear to tap in home, giving the 19-year-old his first senior goal, and bringing his team back level inside 20 minutes.
Galatasaray thought they had retaken the lead when a masked Osimhen squeezed the ball past Forster after Spurs were once again caught out attempting to play from the back, but he was swiftly ruled offside. Though, just two minutes later the Nigerian striker would punish Spurs after Radu Dragusin was caught in possession and gave the Turkish juggernauts a 2-1 lead after just 30 minutes.
The errors would continue to pile up for Tottenham, though, and Osimhen capitalised once again with a cushioned finish past Forster after a beautifully flighted ball into the box from Mertens was floated in with pinpoint precision to give Galatasaray a commanding 3-1 lead going into half-time.
