Tottenham Hotspur saw their perfect start to the Europa League go up in smoke on Thursday in a difficult trip to Istanbul to defeat Turkish champions Galatasaray.
This is a Galatasaray powerhouse that became the first in Super League history to break the 100-point barrier last season; Victor Osimhen has also joined the ranks since then. They are among the contenders to win the Europa League this season, which would make them only the second Turkish side to lift a continental trophy after their previous milestone in 2000.
Spurs had beaten Qarabag, Ferencvaros and AZ in the opening three matches, but Ange Postecoglou’s side were no match in the first half. Yunus Akgun opened the scoring in dramatic fashion within minutes of the start and despite Will Lankshear pulling one back relatively soon after, Osimhen scored decisively twice in quick succession towards the end of the half.
Lankshear was later sent off on a bittersweet night for the teenager, punished for a naively reckless challenge after being stripped and trying to win the ball. And although Dominic Solanke reduced the deficit to 3-2, Spurs couldn’t find a way to get things back on track with one player down.
Galatasaray also had the ball in the net for a fourth time through Mauro Icardi, only to see it ruled offside.
It really wasn’t the night for good performances for Spurs. Lankshear was close to rave reviews until his dismissal, while Solanke did well to come off the bench and score. But one player who turned things around when he came on at half-time was Rodrigo Bentancur.
The Uruguayan gave spurs a foot they had lacked in the first half, helping to calm things down, curbing Galatasaray’s danger and ultimately ensuring that instead of collapsing with ten men, they stayed competitive and in the game until the end .
Spurs center Radu Dragusin has turned the corner, plain and simple. His passing was not normal and he lost almost as many duels as he won during the match.
He was not solely responsible for the goals Osimhen scored, played in a less than ideal situation by Ben Davies for the Nigerian’s first brace. But Dragusin had no awareness of his surroundings and perhaps should have seen the open pass back to Fraser Forster instead of trying to turn and critically lose the ball. For Osimhen’s second, the movement between Spurs’ two centre-backs was enough to get him the space he needed to head out of control.
