“A tough opponent” – Osimhen laments Galatasaray’s Super Lig defeat to Samsunspor

Super Eagles forward Victor Osimhen has reflected on Galatasaray’s shock 4–1 defeat to Samsunspor in the Turkish Super Lig on Saturday, Afrik-Foot reports.

The reigning champions went into the match full of confidence after a commanding derby win over Fenerbahçe last weekend and only needed a win to seal a fourth consecutive league title. Instead, the heavy defeat marked their fourth of the season in the league and delayed their title celebrations until at least next week.

Galatasaray started brightly and took the lead in the ninth minute when Yunus Akgün finished off an assist from Osimhen.

However, the game quickly slipped away from them. Marius Mouandilmadji equalized for the hosts before halftime to level the scoreline and Cherif Ndiaye put Samsunspor ahead after the break.

Things got worse for the visitors when goalkeeper Günay Güvenç was sent off shortly after the hour mark and Samsunspor capitalized on their extra man advantage as Marius and Ndiaye both completed their braces to cap a dominant performance for the home side.

Victor Osimhen reacts to Galatasaray’s disappointing defeat

Super Eagles forward Victor Osimhen played the full 90 minutes but unlike his strong performance against Fenerbahçe last weekend, he had a quiet outing this time around and even failed to register a shot on target.

Speaking after the match, the 27-year-old apologized to the fans for the disappointing result and is confident Galatasaray will be crowned champions in their next league outing.

“We knew it wouldn’t be easy. We were aware that the opponent was a difficult opponent and that it would not be easy to be a champion here. We have to congratulate our opponent. They forced us. To be honest, we can’t say we played well. Now we will look at the match in our house”, Osimhen said, via Galatasaray’s official website.

“Hopefully, we will win there and declare our championship. We apologize to the fans who supported us very well in the away game. They didn’t leave us alone for 90 minutes. Now we’ll look forward. We will focus on the next game. We want to celebrate the championship in that match.”

The Nigerian striker also insisted the team must quickly move on from the setback and shift their immediate attention to finishing the job and sealing a fourth straight league title. 

“We played an incredible match against Fenerbahçe. We can call it the match that brought the championship for that match. We prepare well for every match. We were well prepared for this match. We don’t need to get stuck here”, the former Napoli star added.

“We need to continue. We want to win the match in front of our fans and declare the championship. Nothing has changed from my point of view. Our team will give everything in the upcoming matches as it did throughout the season.

“We will continue. We will focus on the next game. We are all going to play a critical match and we want to win this match to make our dreams come true”, Osimhen concluded.

Galatasaray now face mounting pressure after Fenerbahçe’s win over Istanbul Başakşehir on Saturday, which has now cut the gap at the top to just four points with two games remaining.

They will head into their penultimate game of the season against Antalyaspor, knowing they must avoid another slip-up if they are to clinch a fourth straight league title.