Victor Osimhen scored an early penalty as Galatasaree defeated error-prone Liverpool.
The masked Nigerian striker blew the ball past Diving Allison as he stepped up in the 16th minute of the match on Tuesday after Barris Alper Irmaz swiped through Dominique Schuboschlei’s face.
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Liverpool made three changes to the lineup that Crystal Palace suffered a first league defeat of the season over the weekend.
Both came in the 62nd minute when Liverpool made the triple replacement. Sarah replaced starter Jeremy Fripon with the right wing after Allison was injured and replaced by Giorgi Mamaldashvili on the 56th.
Ekitike was injured on the 68th in the starting lineup, returning from domestic suspension, and it became a blow night for visitors who had a chance but looked surprisingly vulnerable.
The victory was the first in seven years at home in the Turkish side in the Champions League, and was notable against an opponent who was undefeated in all competitions until last weekend and has now won two losses.
Galatasaray may have already been ahead in two minutes when Yilmaz took a defensive nap and went one-on-one with Alisson, who stood firm and kept the danger out.
Liverpool missed their golden chances when Ekitique accidentally made the ball after entering the scoring position in the 13th minute, and Cody Gappo cleared the shot from the rebounding line.
After nearly taking the lead, Liverpool found themselves seconds later when Osimhen stepped up and lifted the already volcanic crowd to the point of the eruption.
Visitors had the opportunity to be equal in the 32nd minute, another Ekitique shot was blocked and Ibrahima went missing from close range, but still looked vulnerable, giving a free kick to the edge of the area on a halftime stroke.
The second half brought many alternatives, but there was no change in the pitch. Liverpool was slowly nervous about their defense as Galatasaree was constantly working to maintain the pressure.
Allison limped after saving him from Osimhen, and Ekitique pulled up after stretching for the ball.
Liverpool sniffed the equalizer on the 88th when referee Clement Turpin pointed to the spot, but the decision was overturned by a VAR review that determined Wilfried Singo played the ball before Ibrahima Conate.
Galatasaray fans displayed banners protesting Israeli war with Gaza on both ends of the pitch, paying tribute to the late Dio Gojota and his brother Andre Silva before kick-off.
Liverpool coach Arne Slot said he was “disappointed” by the outcome, claiming that Szoboszlai admitted the penalty and “nothing was wrong.”
“(Yilmaz) I felt a slight flick in his face and he fell. “In these circumstances, you can’t blame the DOM.”
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dik said there’s no need to panic on his side, but the error needs to be cut out.
“I hate losing, but I shouldn’t panic, I need to improve,” he told Amazon Prime.
“Tonight was a huge step from the motivation and effort we had compared to the weekend.
“Now we have to transform opportunities and sometimes make stupid mistakes. It’s a process and we have to continue.”
Elsewhere, Madrid shrugged travel fatigue with a 5-0 victory at Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almati, and Bayern won a 5-1 victory at Cyprus’ Paphos.
Tottenham Hotspur needed their own 89th minute goal to save points at Bodeau/Grimt as they fought back from two goals, attracting 2-2 in their first Champions League match they played in the Arctic on Tuesday.
Atletico Madrid was watching from the stands after a 5-1 victory over Entracht Frankfurt, where manager Diego Simeon stopped arguing with Liverpool fans in his team’s previous Champions League match.
Jose Mourinho kissed the Chelsea Supporters when he returned to Stamford Bridge with his Benfica team.
The Benfica player scored, but it was Richard Rios’s own goal and decided the outcome.
Marseille visited Ajax 4-0, while Lautaro Martinez scored twice, giving Inter Milan a 3-0 victory at home in Prague, Slavia.
