Premier League giants Liverpool advanced to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night, beating Turkish champions Galatasaray 4-0 at Anfield thanks to goals from Dominik Szoboszlai, Hugo Ekitiké, Ryan Gravenberch and Mohamed Salah.
Galatasaray’s hopes were severely hampered by an early setback, with their marquee striker Victor Osimhen forced off due to injury.
Eleven minutes into the contest, the former African Footballer of the year landed awkwardly after contesting an aerial ball, taking the impact on his right wrist against the turf.
Osimhen received treatment and returned with a bandage on his arm after a brief clash with Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai over the delay.
However, it was clear that the injury was affecting his performance, and he was eventually substituted at halftime.
Speaking after the game, Bafana Bafana legend Shaun Bartlett highlighted that Galatasaray struggled, particularly in attack, due to Osimhen's early injury.
"I can't remember a game where a team were so dominant as far as attacking was concerned. Salomon Kalou alluded to that earlier," Bartlett said on
SuperSport, as monitored by
allnigeriasoccer.com.
"It's just unfortunate that they lost Victor Osimhen so early. Even though he played for 45 minutes, it seems that from the tenth minute, when he hurt his arm, he wasn't really in the match, and he's one of the key players for them.
"Galatasaray really struggled to get into attacking mode, but you have to compliment Liverpool. They don't have a great record against Galatasaray; I think this is the second time they have beaten them."
Osimhen concluded his Champions League campaign this season with an impressive tally of seven goals and three assists in ten appearances.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
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