In the fifth week match of the UEFA Europa League, our representative Galatasaray drew 1-1 away with the Dutch team AZ Alkmaar.
3 CHANGES FROM OKAN BURUK
Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk made 3 changes in his starting 11 compared to the last Sipay Bodrum FK match.
The yellow-red team started the match at AFAS Stadium with the squad of Fernando Muslera, Davinson Sanchez, Victor Nelsson, Abdülkerim Bardakcı, Barış Alper Yılmaz, Lucas Torreira, Gabriel Sara, Yunus Akgün, Dries Mertens, Michy Batshuayi, Victor Osimhen.
Galatasaray’s bench included Batuhan Şen, Günay Güvenç, Kerem Demirbay, Berkan Kutlu, Hakim Ziyech, Elias Jelert, Ali Yeşilyurt, Kadir Subaşı, Berat Luş, Recep Dilek, Efe Akman and Metehan Baltacı.
Coach Okan Buruk made 3 changes in this match compared to the first 11 in the Sipay Bodrum FK match played in the 13th week of Trendyol Super League.
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The experienced coach could not benefit from Roland Sallai because his name was not on the UEFA list. Buruk did not include Kaan Ayhan and Metehan Baltacı, who were not in the squad due to injury, in the 11. Okan Buruk replaced these players with Davinson Sanchez, Victor Nelsson and Michy Batshuayi in the first 11.
HE PREFERRED THE 3-4-1-2 SYSTEM AGAIN
Galatasaray, under the management of coach Okan Buruk, played this match with the 3-4-1-2 system used in the Sipay Bodrum FK match.
The yellow-red team started the Elfsborg match in the 3rd week of the UEFA Europa League with a 3-4-1-2 formation, and also preferred this formation in the Tottenham and Sipay Bodrum FK matches.
“Cimbom” did not break this formation against the Dutch representative AZ Alkmaar.
OSIMHEN AND BATSHUAYI DOUBLE FORWARD
Coach Okan Buruk relied on the Osimhen-Batshuayi duo to score goals against AZ Alkmaar.
The yellow-reds have previously played against Kasımpaşa, Elfsborg and Tottenham with the forward duo Osimhen-Icardi.
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After Icardi’s injury, Okan Buruk gave a chance to Batshuayi, who scored a goal alongside Osimhen in the Sipay Bodrum FK match.
HE FALLED BEHIND WITH AN EARLY GOAL, BUT RECOVERED QUICKLY
AZ Alkmaar took the lead against Galatasaray in the 2nd minute. In the fast attack, Muslera deflected the shot coming from the right diagonal. When Nelsson was late to intervene, Mijnans sent the ball into the net. Shortly after the goal, the home team came close to scoring the second goal. Muslera prevented the gap from widening by making two consecutive saves.
After this minute, Galatasaray put its emphasis on the match. Increasing their pressure towards the end of the first half, the yellow-red team found the equalizer in the 43rd minute with Osimhen. Mertens’ cross from the right was hit by Osimhen at the back post, and the ball hit Koopmeiners and crossed the line. The goal decision was made by VAR review.
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The first half ended with a 1-1 draw.
NELSSON LEFT METEHAN ENTERED
Okan Buruk started the second half by adding Metehan Baltacı into the game instead of Nelsson, who made a mistake in the goal and was open in defense. Our representative continued his superior play in the second half. Young Metehan also made important interventions in defense in the second half.
ABDÜLKERİM COULD NOT PASS THE POLE
In the 75th minute, Abdülkerim moved to the front post after Mertens’ cross and the ball hit the post.
OSIMHEN SCORED THE GOAL IN OT, AND WAS Stuck OFFside! PENALTY EXPECTATION…
The fateful moment of the match happened in extra time. In AZ Alkmaar, Smit received a red card after the second yellow in the 90+2 minute. In the continuation of the position, Osimhen headed the ball into the net after a cross from the right was thrown to the back post, but the offside flag was raised.
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Galatasaray players waited for a penalty for the moment when Davinson Sanchez remained on the ground when the ball bounced towards Osimhen. Although the VAR review continued for a while, the expected result was not obtained and the match ended 1-1.
HE TOOK 19 SHOTS
Among the matches in which Galatasaray could not win in the post-qualifying stages of the UEFA Europa League, the match in which it took the most shots was played away at AZ.
Scoring 13 goals in five Europa League matches this season, Galatasaray is experiencing the season in which it reached the highest number of goals in the group/league stage in the history of European cups.
UNDEFEATED STRIKE EXTENDED TO 15 MATCHES
Galatasaray was undefeated in the last 15 official matches in all competitions.
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The yellow-red team, which last lost 1-0 to the Swiss representative Young Boys, which they hosted in the UEFA Champions League play-off round rematch, subsequently played 5 UEFA Europa League and 10 Super League matches. “Cimbom” won 12 of the said competitions and drew in 3 of them.
HE HAD NOT LOSED 17 OF THE LAST 19 MATCHES IN THE EUROPEAN LEAGUE
Galatasaray was undefeated in 17 of the last 19 matches in the UEFA Europa League.
The yellow-red team played 19 matches in “Cup 2” during the process that started with the 2021-22 season. Galatasaray won 9 of these matches and drew 8.
“Cimbom” lost 2-1 at home to the Spanish team Barcelona and lost 4-1 to the Czech representative Sparta Prague on the road.
AZ ALKMAAR DOES NOT LOSE TO TURKISH TEAMS
Z Alkmaar continued its unbeaten streak against Turkish teams in its 8th match.
The Dutch team had never been defeated, having won 4 and drawn 3 in 7 matches against Başakşehir, Fenerbahçe and Kayserispor from Turkey until this match. AZ Alkmaar drew 1-1 with Galatasaray, which it met for the first time, and continued its undefeated streak in this field.
