Tottenham’s Late Rally Falls Short as Galatasaray Prevail 3-2
Tottenham’s perfect start to the Europa League came to a dramatic end on Thursday as they were defeated 3-2 by a dominant Galatasaray, despite a spirited late comeback. Victor Osimhen’s brace and Yunus Akgun’s early strike sealed the win for the Turkish side, who dominated throughout but should have scored more, registering 28 shots on goal.
The match came to life early when Akgun struck a sensational effort from the edge of the box to give Galatasaray the lead just six minutes in. Tottenham quickly responded with a well-worked goal, as Archie Gray’s brilliant pass found Brennan Johnson, who set up 19-year-old Will Lankshear for his first senior goal to level the score.
Galatasaray regained the lead just after the half-hour mark when Osimhen, initially denied by an offside call, latched onto a pass to smash home the go-ahead goal. The Nigerian striker added another soon after, cleverly slipping the ball past Spurs’ keeper Fraser Forster, who had made a string of impressive saves up to that point.
Despite relentless pressure from Galatasaray, Spurs were fortunate to stay just two goals down. The situation worsened when Lankshear was sent off for a second yellow card, but Tottenham responded with resilience. Substitute Dominic Solanke pulled one back for Spurs, giving them a glimmer of hope.
With time running out, Dejan Kulusevski nearly produced a moment of magic, shooting from distance as Galatasaray’s keeper was off his line, but the effort went wide. It was too little, too late for Ange Postecoglou’s men, as the Turkish champions held firm to claim the three points.
