Lille 2-4 Galatasaray: Osimhen silences his old club

Victor Osimhen scored against his former club Lille and refused to celebrate. Galatasaray did the celebrating for him: a 4-2 win at Stade Pierre-Mauroy that delivers their first points of the Champions League league phase and leaves Lille with nothing to show from three matchdays.

This was the first official competitive meeting between the two clubs, played under heavy security after local authorities classified the fixture as high risk and the Nord Department mobilised more than 800 security officers. On the pitch it was chaos of a different kind: four goals before half-time, a penalty given and then taken away, and a second half in which Galatasaray became the first Turkish club to score four times against a French side in European Cup or Champions League history.

Lille had more of the ball, 56% to 44%, and more of the shots, 15 to 10. Galatasaray put four efforts on target and scored four goals. That gap between control and consequence is the story of the night.

Yunus Akgün strikes early as Diaoune answers for Lille

The opener arrived inside 66 seconds, the fastest goal Galatasaray have ever scored in Champions League history. Barış Yılmaz swung an outside-of-the-boot cross in from the left, Alexsandro Ribeiro failed to clear, and Yunus Akgün lifted a left-footed finish high into the net. It was his second goal in all competitions this season, in his 11th appearance.

Lille needed five minutes to respond. Alexsandro Ribeiro, at fault moments earlier, slid a ground pass behind the Galatasaray back line, and 19-year-old Soriba Diaoune ran through, rounded Uğurcan Çakır and rolled a left-footed finish into the unguarded net.

The 27th minute brought the night's flashpoint. Referee Rade Obrenovic pointed to the spot after Osimhen went down following contact with Lille goalkeeper Berke Özer, but after reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor he rescinded the penalty. The score stayed 1-1, and Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk said afterwards that the referee had made the correct call in overturning the decision.

Diaoune's brace undone by Batrakov's header

Diaoune's second, on 39 minutes, was Lille's finest moment of the night. Hákon Haraldsson collected a parried save and set up the teenager in the centre of the box, and Diaoune blasted a right-footed shot into the top-right corner. Those were his first Champions League goals, and for a few minutes they looked like the foundation of a famous home win.

The lead lasted five minutes. Roland Sallai worked space on the right flank and whipped a cross into the danger zone, where Aleksey Batrakov, completely unmarked, headed home from point-blank range on 44 minutes. It was 2-2 at the break, and Batrakov had his second goal in all competitions this season from nine appearances. For Lille, conceding from a cross with nobody near the scorer wiped out the best spell of their European campaign.

Berke Özer's own goal tilts the night towards Galatasaray

Seven minutes after the restart, the match turned on a corner. Gabriel Sara delivered to the near post, Lucas Torreira glanced a header goalwards, and Özer got both hands to it only to deflect the ball into his own net. For the Turkish goalkeeper, facing a side from his own country, it was the cruellest moment of a punishing evening.

Then came the goal that settled it. On 61 minutes Galatasaray broke swiftly in transition, Barış Yılmaz laid the ball off centrally inside the box, and Osimhen slotted a low right-footed shot past Özer. His arms stayed down. Osimhen scored 18 goals for Lille in the 2019/20 season before leaving, and his refusal to celebrate was a gesture of respect to his former club.

It was his seventh goal in all competitions this season from eight appearances, and he has now scored in three of Galatasaray's last six matches. Lille kept the ball and kept pushing, but five shots on target from 15 attempts was never going to be enough against a side that punished almost every mistake put in front of it.

Lille's European crisis deepens under Davide Ancelotti

Three Champions League games, three defeats. Lille sit 35th on zero points, and their winless run in all competitions now stretches to three matches. The result heaps scrutiny on manager Davide Ancelotti, whose European struggles stand in stark contrast to his side's domestic form near the top of Ligue 1.

French coverage zeroed in on exactly that vulnerability: Diaoune's spark could not mask defensive errors and an inability to protect a lead, and with nothing collected after three matchdays Lille's qualification hopes are in immediate crisis. An early exit is now a serious threat.

Galatasaray, meanwhile, climb to 23rd on three points and off the foot of the table. The Turkish press hailed a historic win in France, "Fransa'da tarihi galibiyet", praising the composure and ruthlessness with which Okan Buruk's side recovered from early defensive lapses. There is little time to savour it, with a Süper Lig derby against Fenerbahçe on the horizon.