The Super Eagles striker dedicated his ninth league goal of the season to newborn Liora Audrey in a 4-0 win at Konyaspor.
Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen scored for Galatasaray less than 24 hours after becoming a father for the second time, dedicating the goal to his newborn daughter, Liora Audrey. The Turkish champions won 4-0 away to Konyaspor on Friday, 30 October.
Osimhen and his partner, Stefanie Kim Ladewig, welcomed their daughter on Thursday. Galatasaray announced the news on its official social media channels. "Our Football A Team player Victor Osimhen and Stefanie have welcomed a baby girl into the world," the club said in a statement.
Hailey True, the couple's older daughter, came into the world in 2020. Osimhen stayed in Istanbul for the birth. He flew to join his teammates by private plane on the day of the match, after the squad had travelled to Konya without him on Thursday.
Osimhen gave Galatasaray the lead in the 12th minute, rising to head home Gabriel Sara's delivery. According to a trending video on X, he then skipped his usual goal celebration and made the initial of his daughter's name instead. The goal was his ninth in the league this season, from eight appearances, and it came after he had also scored twice in the Istanbul derby win over Fenerbahce on Monday, 26 October.
Yunus Akgün doubled the lead in the 28th minute, and Aleksey Batrakov extended it in the 49th, his first league goal for the club. The fourth came from the penalty spot in the 55th minute. VAR had overturned referee Cihan Aydın's first decision, a corner, after an incident involving Rafael Leão. Osimhen had already scored, but he stepped aside from the spot to help Leão end his goal drought. Leão afterwards thanked him, saying he was aware of how much that moment mattered.
Osimhen recorded five shots, three of them on target, before he was substituted in the 61st minute. The game also set Super Eagles against Super Eagles, as Konyaspor defender Chidozie Awaziem played the full 90 minutes. He had two interceptions, three clearances and three recoveries, came out on top in three of four ground contests, and his passes found their target 97 per cent of the time. He had scored twice in a 2-0 win over Gençlerbirliği before the trip.
Konyaspor suffered a heavy home defeat. The win also snapped a rough spell for the Istanbul side, who had been beaten in four of their six earlier visits to Konyaspor, the latest a 2-0 loss there. Galatasaray, who have won eight of their 10 league matches under coach Okan Buruk, are top of the Super Lig.
Next, Galatasaray host VfB Stuttgart in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, 3 November.
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