Galatasaray head coach Okan Buruk has revealed that they made efforts to keep Victor Osimhen on the pitch during the second leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 clash with Liverpool, even after the striker picked up an early injury.
The Yellow and Reds succumbed to a 4-0 defeat at Anfield, crashing out of the competition 4-1 on aggregate.
Osimhen sustained an injury early in the game after he was tackle from behind by Ibrahim Konate.
The 27-year-old however managed to complete the first half.
Buruk’s Update On Osimhen
“Osimhen is also in pain. It happened at the beginning of the game; we tried to keep him on the pitch, but his pain increased, so we had to substitute him at halftime,” Buruk told the club’s official website.
“Looking at Osimhen’s position, we saw that Konaté was able to commit these fouls very easily, he could easily apply any kind of foul. While we were expecting the best referee in the world, perhaps one of the worst referees officiated the game.”
On Galatasaray Performance
Buruk also reflected on his team’s performance in the game.
“Our opponent deserved to win the match much more than us. There were unfortunate events; our start to the game, Osimhen’s injury, our inability to make our presence felt during the game, and the confidence we gave to our opponent,” added Buruk.
“They played with more confidence, while we lost ours. Our fans always expect a much more courageous Galatasaray, but none of our pre-match plans worked on the field. Injuries and the wrong decisions we made during the game had an impact. My players put in a great deal of effort, and I respect their efforts. You congratulated us, Galatasaray, and our club for being here; however, I am saddened by this defeat today.
“It wasn’t just about the score; you can lose a match based on the score, but in terms of the game itself, we really didn’t deserve to win. We should have done better, but we couldn’t. We conceded four goals and gave away many chances.Uğurcan put in an important performance today, but despite that, we suffered a 4-0 defeat. I’m very upset about that.”
By Adeboye Amosu
1 Comment
Is this the dude that they want elite clubs to rob the bank for?
A player that spends more time in hospital than football pitch?
This year alone dude has gotten injured up to five times!! And we are just in march o!!
I wonder why they hype him to be strong and powerful when he goes down at any slight tackle….. cole palmer has more stability than this guy honestly…smh…