Victor Osimhen opened his Champions League account for the season as Galatasaray overturned an early deficit to defeat his former club Lille 4-2 at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, securing their first victory of the league-phase campaign.

Key takeaways

• Osimhen sealed the Turkish champions’ win with a 60th-minute counter-attacking finish.
• Galatasaray recovered after Soriba Diaoune’s two goals had put Lille 2-1 ahead.
• Aleksey Batrakov’s header before half-time restored parity for the visitors.
• Davide Ancelotti said Lille were punished heavily for mistakes and lost their shape after falling two goals behind.
• Galatasaray now turn their attention to the Istanbul derby against Fenerbahce on October 26.

Osimhen completes Galatasaray comeback

The Nigeria forward struck after an hour, breaking forward with Galatasaray and applying the finish to extend their advantage to 4-2. It was his first goal in two Champions League outings this term. He had missed the loss to Sporting Lisbon before playing in last week’s 4-1 home defeat against Barcelona.

Galatasaray started strongly and went in front inside two minutes through Yunus Akgün. Lille responded through Soriba Diaoune, who then scored again in the 39th minute to put the home side ahead 2-1.

However, Aleksey Batrakov brought Galatasaray level shortly before the interval, directing a header home from a cross delivered from the right in the 44th minute.

Osimhen had already been central to a major first-half incident. A penalty was initially awarded when Lille goalkeeper Berke Özer challenged the striker in the 27th minute, only for the referee to overturn the call after reviewing the situation on VAR. Galatasaray remained unfazed by the reversal.

They regained the lead immediately following the restart. Torreira met a corner with a header at the near post, surprising Özer. Although the score display showed Lille had two goals to Galatasaray’s four, Osimhen’s strike ultimately removed any remaining doubt over the outcome.

Lille rue costly errors as derby approaches

Lille manager Davide Ancelotti acknowledged that his team had been made to suffer for their errors. He said his players lost key individual battles and were poorly positioned for Galatasaray’s first two goals, before adding that Lille collapsed once they were two goals down.

“Mistakes are punished severely in this competition,” Ancelotti said. Lille made three changes in the 63rd minute, but Galatasaray remained organised and protected their advantage.

The result provides a lift for Galatasaray before Monday’s Istanbul derby against Fenerbahce on October 26. Osimhen has scored six times in six Super Lig matches, while Galatasaray sit top of the standings on 19 points, three clear of third-place Fenerbahce.