Galatasaray hosted Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League Matchday 2 fixture at the Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex RAMS Park and claimed a 1-0 victory.

The winning goal came in the 16th minute from Victor Osimhen, who converted a penalty. With this result, our team earned its first three points in the league standings.

Fueled by the energy of our fans, Galatasaray started the game strong and came close to scoring in the 2nd minute. After a pass from Yunus Akgün, Barış Alper Yılmaz broke into the box from the left, but his shot was denied by Alisson.

Liverpool, who mainly attacked down the right flank, were met by our solid defensive line. In the 14th minute, the visitors had a dangerous chance through Ekitike, but Davinson Sánchez cleared the ball off the line. During the ensuing scramble, our defense held firm and neutralized the threat.

Moments later, Barış Alper Yılmaz once again challenged the opposing goal. After dribbling past Szoboszlai in a one-on-one situation, he was brought down in the box, and the referee pointed to the spot. Victor Osimhen calmly sent the goalkeeper the wrong way in the 16th minute to make it 1–0.

Although Liverpool had more possession, we launched dangerous counterattacks whenever we recovered the ball.

In the 29th minute, Osimhen cut the ball back from the right side of the box toward İlkay Gündoğan, but Konaté cleared it for a corner.

In the 32nd minute, Uğurcan Çakır produced a brilliant save. From Liverpool’s attack, Frimpong headed the ball across the goal to Wirtz, whose powerful shot was stopped by our keeper diving to his left. A subsequent corner from Szoboszlai found Konaté, who nodded the ball into the danger zone; Kerkez fired with his left foot, but Davinson Sánchez slid in to clear it for another corner.

In the 45th minute, Torreira won the ball high up the pitch, and Gravenberch fouled Osimhen near the penalty arc, earning a yellow card. Galatasaray gained a promising free-kick opportunity. From the set piece, İlkay laid the ball off to Abdülkerim, whose powerful shot struck a defender. Our players appealed for handball, but after consulting VAR, referee Turpin waved play on.

The first half ended with Galatasaray leading 1–0.

In the second half, we maintained our defensive discipline while creating a few more chances. In the 49th minute, Frimpong reached the byline and crossed to Ekitike at the near post, but Uğurcan Çakır made an outstanding save to deny him.

We then missed a clear scoring opportunity through Osimhen. The Nigerian star pressed high, intercepted a short back-pass, and found himself one-on-one with the keeper, but his finish lacked precision, allowing Alisson to collect the ball. Both players suffered injuries shortly after; Alisson was replaced by Mamardashvili.

Unable to break through Galatasaray’s defense, Liverpool made three substitutions—Bradley, Salah, and Isak replaced Gakpo, Frimpong, and Gravenberch. Injured Ekitike was also replaced by Mac Allister in the 69th minute.

In the 72nd minute, Osimhen could not continue and was substituted by Mauro Icardi. Roland Sallai came on for Yunus Akgün, and in the 75th minute, Gabi Sara replaced İlkay Gündoğan. In the remaining minutes, we focused on protecting our lead rather than pushing forward.

In the 88th minute, referee Turpin awarded a controversial penalty to Liverpool, but after a VAR review, the decision was overturned.

At the 90th minute, Lucas Torreira came close to doubling our lead — his shot from a loose ball deflected off a defender and went narrowly wide.

Despite eight minutes of stoppage time, the score remained unchanged. Galatasaray secured a 1–0 victory and earned its first three points in the group standings.