The Super Eagles striker came off the bench 13 minutes from time, and his pass set up Mario Lemina's third goal.
Victor Osimhen came off the bench on Friday for the first time since he was hurt on September 4, and Galatasaray beat Kasımpaşa 3-1 in the Turkish Süper Lig at Rams Park. The Super Eagles striker came on in the 77th minute, with the score level at 1-1, and he had a hand in the winning goals before the end.
Osimhen scored the opening goal in Galatasaray's 3-2 league win against İstanbul Başakşehir on September 4, but he was hurt in the 33rd minute of that game. The club's tests showed a strain in the right adductor muscle group, and the club diagnosed a moderate-to-advanced strain. After that, he sat out the Champions League opener against Sporting CP and the league matches against Kocaelispor and Trabzonspor. He also withdrew from the Super Eagles' squad for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying games against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau.
Before the injury, the 27-year-old had six goals and two assists in his first four league appearances. Abdülkerim Bardakcı headed them in front in the 45th minute from Aleksey Batrakov's free-kick. Lucas Torreira was sent off in the 65th minute after a VAR review turned his yellow card into a red for denying a clear chance to score. Three minutes later Jesurun Rak-Sakyi equalised for Kasımpaşa, after Galatasaray failed to clear a corner.
Barış Alper Yılmaz restored the lead in the 90th minute. Osimhen's pass in the build-up let Mario Lemina dribble past a defender and finish the third goal in the 90+6 minute. Legit.ng reports that Osimhen also started the move that ended in Yılmaz's goal, a claim the other reports do not make.
Assistant coach İrfan Saraloğlu, who took charge in place of head coach Okan Buruk, explained the late introduction. He said the team had retreated after Torreira's dismissal, and that "we retreated a bit, our balance was disrupted". He added that the club also had to protect players returning from national team duty. "Osimhen just came back from injury, we had to protect him," he said.
With this result, Galatasaray move top of the Süper Lig with 16 points from seven matches, a three-point cushion over Amed SK, who are on 13 points but have a game in hand. This was Kasımpaşa's opening league loss of the campaign, leaving them on 10 points.
Galatasaray host Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday, October 13.
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