Osimhen fear factor: How Galatasaray striker changed the game against Kasimpasa

Four weeks after suffering an injury against Istanbul Basaksehir, Victor Osimhen returned to action for Galatasaray on Friday night, helping the Turkish champions secure a 3-1 win over Kasimpasa.

The Super Eagles striker started on the bench at RAMS Park, with coach Okan Buruk opting to start youngster Deniz Gul in attack ahead of the trio of Rafa Leão, Yunus Akgün and Russia’s Aleksey Batrakov.

It appeared Galatasaray would have no need to call on Osimhen for emergency services when captain Abdülkerim Bardakcı put the hosts in front on the stroke of half-time.

However, things turned on their heads for Galatasaray when Lucas Torreira received a straight red card for a professional foul that denied Kasimpasa a goalscoring opportunity.

With Galatasaray down to 10 men, the visitors’ confidence soared, their attacking play gained momentum, and three minutes later, they found an equaliser through Jesurun Rak-Sakyi.

Suddenly, the champions lost their organisation and belief. For a brief moment, it felt like Kasimpasa could go on to win the match.

In the 75th minute, Galatasaray coach Buruk turned to his bench and called on the one man who could single-handedly rescue the night for the home side: Osimhen.

Replacing Gul, Osimhen came off the bench to loud applause from the Galatasaray faithful in the stands.

Osimhen’s presence changed the game

Victor Osimhen may not have been fully fit and had been away from competitive action for over a month, but the moment the Nigerian striker entered the pitch, one important thing changed about Kasimpasa.

It was as if fear took on a fork and plate and ate up all the confidence in the Kasimpasa half, from their manager to their goalkeeper.

Kasimpasa coach Emre Belözoğlu looked jittery on the sidelines. Greek goalkeeper Andreas Gianniotis had been excellent up to the point when Osimhen entered the pitch. Suddenly, however, the 33-year-old appeared to lose his aura.

The visitors even changed their setup and adopted a more defensive approach despite boasting a numerical advantage over the hosts.

They would be punished for it at the death, though, as Barış Alper Yılmaz restored Galatasaray’s lead in the 90th minute. Six minutes into stoppage time, Osimhen laid on the assist for Mario Lemina to seal a comfortable 3-1 victory.

Turkish football pundit Emre Bol was convinced after the final whistle that Osimhen’s introduction was the key factor in Galatasaray’s win.

“I’m telling you what happened when Osimhen came on,” Bol pointed out.

“The goalkeeper was the man of the match until that dummy came in, and the guy conceded two ridiculous goals. Emre Belözoğlu’s psychology got messed up too. After Osimhen entered, he made these ridiculous weird substitutions.

“The guy ruins everyone’s psychology the moment he steps onto the field. Can something like this even happen, man?”

Following his latest contribution, Osimhen now has six goals and three assists in five league games this season.

The Super Eagles striker will look to spend more minutes on the pitch when Galatasaray take on Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League next week.