Galatasaray coach Orkan Buruk revealed that he substituted Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen in the 80th minute of their Europa League match against AZ Alkmaar to protect him from injury.
Osimhen scored for Galatasaray when they faced AZ Alkmaar at Rams Park in the second leg of their crucial Europa League tie.
Unfortunately for Galatasaray, his goal was not enough, as they were already trailing by three goals from the first leg.
Buruk made a surprising decision by substituting Osimhen for youngster Berat Lus in the 80th minute, when the score was 2-2. This move suggested that he might have given up on the game.
However, he explained his reasoning after the match. With Alvaro Morata injured, Buruk felt it was necessary to take Osimhen off the pitch to keep him fit and healthy.
“Since our other striker Morata was injured, we decided to substitute Osimhen in the last 10 minutes. It wasn’t the night we hoped for. We were more optimistic, and if we had scored the first goal, Osimhen might have played longer,” Buruk said.
Victor Osimhen had a strong performance for Galatasaray, registering seven goal attempts, one of which resulted in a goal. He showed great energy throughout the match, but despite scoring an impressive goal, he missed several other good opportunities. He will need to improve on that.
At Galatasaray, he has been a prolific scorer, tallying 20 goals in 25 games, but his total could be higher.
Now that Galatasaray has been eliminated from the Europa League, they will shift their focus to defending their Turkish Super Lig title and competing in the Turkish Cup.
