Okan Buruk Reacts After Monaco Ends Victor Osimhen’s European Streak for Galatasaray
- Galatasaray head coach Okan Buruk has spoken after his team fell to another Champions League defeat against Monaco
- Osimhen was on an eight-match scoring streak for Galatasaray in European competitions before the 1-0 loss to AS Monaco
- The French club missed a penalty before former Arsenal star Folarin Balogun scored the only goal for the win
Galatasaray head coach Okan Buruk has shared his thoughts after his team suffered their third loss of the season in the UEFA Champions League.
Monaco were the better side and missed a penalty through Denis Zakaria after Davison Sanchez’s foul, before former Arsenal man Folarin Balogun scored the winner.
Source: Getty Images
The Turkish champions failed to win in the Champions League for the first time this season despite having striker Victor Osimhen in the line-up.
As noted by Sporx, Osimhen failed to score for the first time in nine European matches for Galatasaray, ending his streak of eight matches with a goal, dating back to last season.
Buruk reacts to Galatasaray's loss
Head coach Okan Buruk was disappointed with his team's performance, admitting that not taking their chances cost them victory.
“We created chances in the first half of the match, and some we missed, and not just the chances we created... We also made mistakes in the final passes,” he told GS TV.
“We played very comfortably. We did very well, especially in building up play from the back. We also created very clear chances.
“If we had performed better, the first half could have been a very comfortable match for us, and we could have gone into the second half much more easily.”
Turkish fans criticised Osimhen
The Turkish media and fans were irate against Victor Osimhen after the team’s loss, many of whom criticised his performance in relation to his transfer fee.
@satsujinfb wrote:
“You could have built a top-notch midfield with just one Osimhen, but you're managing with populism, what did you expect?”
Source: Getty Images
@fantasyhooper wrote:
“If you sign Osimhen for €75 million, you can't sign players in other positions. Now, he will go for AFCON and the bench is empty because Galatasaray has not spread the risk.”
@PatatorT wrote:
“Instead of buying Osimhen, who cost €200 million and whom no one in Europe would even look at for that price, you could have bought 5 quality footballers for 40 million euros each.”
@smmcngs wrote:
“Don't teams like Real Madrid or Liverpool, who don't have a top-tier striker, know how to pay 75 million for Osimhen? Why would they make that investment and then send their player to the Africa Cup every two months? And then there's the extra time he misses matches due to injuries. I won't even get into the other chronic problems.”
Galatasaray will now turn their attention to the league at the weekend, where they will travel to face Antalyaspor for a chance to bounce back.
Galatasaray with and without Osimhen
Legit.ng analysed Galatasaray's results with and without Victor Osimhen in the Champions League after that team lost to Royal Union Saint-Gilloise.
Galatasaray, before the match against Monaco, have lost all Champions League matches without the striker, while they won all matches with him.
Proofreading by Omoleye Omoruyi, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
