Nigerian striker, Victor Osimhen ended his UEFA Champions League goal drought on Wednesday, October 21, as Galatasaray came from behind to beat Lille 4-2 in France, while Manchester United suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat to Como.
Osimhen sealed Galatasaray’s win shortly after the hour mark, finishing a swift counter-attack to score his first goal in the competition since February. The result handed the Turkish champions their first win of the campaign.
Galatasaray took the lead after just 66 seconds when Yunus Akgun capitalised on a defensive error by Lille’s Alexsandro. Soriba Diaoune equalised in the seventh minute after rounding goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir before putting the hosts ahead in the 39th minute with a rebound finish.
Aleksey Batrakov restored parity for Galatasaray just before half-time, heading home after Lille failed to mark him properly.
Lucas Torreira then put the visitors ahead seven minutes into the second half with a near-post header from a corner, which took a final touch off Lille goalkeeper Berke Ozer, before Osimhen completed the scoring.
The goal carried extra significance for Osimhen, who scored 18 goals in 38 appearances for Lille during the 2019/20 season before joining Napoli in 2020. The striker has also recorded seven goals and three assists for Galatasaray this season.
Meanwhile, Manchester United endured another disappointing European outing as Como secured a convincing win, increasing the pressure on manager Michael Carrick.
Argentine playmaker Nico Paz opened the scoring after 118 seconds and added a second goal, while Tasos Douvikas extended Como’s advantage after receiving a pass from Paz. Jacobo Ramon then headed in the fourth goal to complete the Italian side’s dominant performance.
United conceded within the opening two minutes for the second consecutive major European match, having also allowed an early goal against Atletico Madrid eight days earlier.
Carrick attempted to change the course of the match with several substitutions, withdrawing Matheus Cunha and Andrey Santos at half-time before replacing captain Bruno Fernandes with Joshua Zirkzee in the second half.
Zirkzee scored a stoppage-time consolation after converting a cross from fellow substitute Amad Diallo, but his effort did little to ease United’s disappointing evening.
Elsewhere, Sporting lost 3-2 to LASK, Real Betis defeated Feyenoord 1-0, Inter beat Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 and Bayern Munich drew 2-2 with Arsenal. Aston Villa defeated Viking 3-1, Club Brugge beat Lens 3-0, while Real Madrid thrashed RB Leipzig 4-1.
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