Osimhen-less Galatasaray collapse to Sporting in Champions League opener
Galatasaray opened their 2026/27 UEFA Champions League campaign on a disappointing note as they surrendered an early lead before suffering a 3-1 defeat to Sporting CP in Lisbon on Wednesday night.
The Turkish champions, without Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen, made a promising start and took the lead inside six minutes, but Sporting gradually turned the game around to claim all three points.
Osimhen’s absence was a major talking point before and during the encounter, with Galatasaray unable to maintain the advantage they established early in the contest.
Galatasaray moved in front after Lucas Torreira’s effort ended up in the Sporting net following a scramble created by a long throw.
The hosts, however, responded strongly and restored parity in the 27th minute.
Geny Catamo finished from close range after Maxi Araújo’s delivery caused confusion in the Galatasaray defence, sending the two sides into the interval level.
Sporting returned for the second half with greater attacking intent and completed their comeback through Luis Suárez.
The Colombian forward converted from the penalty spot in the 54th minute after being brought down inside the Galatasaray box.
Nine minutes later, Rodrigo Zalazar produced the decisive moment of the night with a superb direct free-kick that flew into the top corner.
Galatasaray struggled to find a response as Sporting controlled the closing stages and secured a 3-1 victory in their opening league-phase fixture.
The result will raise questions over Galatasaray’s ability to compete at the highest level of European football, particularly after they had shown enough early promise to take the lead in Portugal.
For Osimhen, the missed fixture means the Nigerian forward will have to wait for his opportunity to make an impact in this season’s Champions League campaign.
The Nigerian striker has established himself as a key attacking figure for Galatasaray and previously enjoyed a prolific European campaign with the Turkish giants. His goalscoring record in the competition has made his availability particularly important for the club’s continental ambitions.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Liverpool also had to come from behind to secure victory in their Champions League opener, defeating Atletico Madrid 2-1 at Anfield.
Marcos Llorente put Atletico ahead in the 17th minute before Dominik Szoboszlai levelled shortly before half-time.
Alexis Mac Allister then completed Liverpool’s comeback five minutes after the restart with a powerful effort from outside the box.
The contrasting fortunes of Galatasaray and Liverpool provided one of the major talking points from the opening night, with the Turkish champions unable to protect their early advantage while Liverpool showed the resilience required to overturn Atletico’s lead.
For Galatasaray, attention now turns to the next phase of the Champions League campaign and the return of key players, including Osimhen, as they look to recover from their opening-day setback.
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