Victor Osimhen: How Galatasaray can hurt Barcelona in Champions League clash

Victor Osimhen believes Galatasaray must combine aggressive pressing with defensive resilience to overcome Barcelona when the teams meet in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, October 13.

The Turkish champions welcome the Spanish giants to Rams Park for their Matchday 2 league-phase encounter, with Osimhen hoping to help his team recover from their disappointing European start.

Galatasaray lost 3-1 away to Sporting CP in their opening match, while Barcelona began their campaign with a commanding 5-1 victory over Feyenoord. Barcelona sit third in the league-phase standings after the opening round, while Galatasaray are down in the lower positions.

Osimhen returned to competitive action on Friday after spending 35 days sidelined with a groin injury. The Nigeria international came off the bench to provide an assist for Mario Lemina in Galatasaray’s 3-1 win over Kasımpaşa.

The former Napoli forward’s vital contribution gave his team an important boost ahead of the Barcelona encounter.

Osimhen identifies Galatasaray’s route to victory

After shooting down Kasimpasa, attention switches to the Champions League where Galatasaray face arguably the finest attacking side on the continent at the moment.

Against Barcelona, Turkish champions Galatasaray are the heavy underdogs but Osimhen is convinced that getting a positive result is possible.

The 27-year-old believes Galatasaray must disrupt Barcelona’s possession game rather than allow the visitors to dictate proceedings.

“I’m very excited for the Barcelona match because I know Barcelona is one of the world’s best teams and currently the best team in the world,” Osimhen said per Le Marca Spors.

“When you’re playing against a team with such high-quality players, you have to play with both excitement and seriousness, you need to apply pressure in the opponent’s half.”

Galatasaray could use that approach to force turnovers high up the pitch, creating opportunities to attack before Barcelona can reorganise. Osimhen’s pace, movement and physical presence could prove valuable when the hosts win possession and launch quick attacks.

However, the Nigerian also stressed the need for resilience against a side that dominates the ball.

“They possess the ball a lot, so in a match like this, you need to show some resilience,” he added.

Interestingly, Galatasaray have no had much joy when facing the reigning La Liga champions.

Barcelona have won six of their 10 previous Champions League meetings, while Galatasaray have won one, with three matches drawn. Across those meetings, Barcelona scored 16 goals compared to Galatasaray’s seven.