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Victor Osimhen: We managed to win the match! We put in a great performance, and I’m really happy we’ve picked up three points.

Rus düşmanlığı falan mı bu?

Sallai's is one of the best 3 assists of the night.

Lille vs Galatasaray | UEFA Champions League 2026/27 | UEFA.com

good matches – but there’s a derby in five days’ time.

Okan Buruk: The away win was particularly pleasing. Last year, we’d only experienced that in the Ajax match. We didn’t manage to win the Lisbon match, but an away win here is very heartening. It’s pleasing to have improved our position in the table. These five matches are crucial. Last year, we went into the final match in a more secure position. We want to go into the final match against PSG as a team that has already qualified. We’ve secured the first win. I’m delighted we won. We started and finished with the same determination and concentration. We always tried to play on the front foot. We fell behind and then took the lead. We responded when we fell behind again. We spread the play over the full 90 minutes. We didn’t let our discipline slip. If we’d made better runs, we could have increased the scoreline.

Okan Buruk: Lille are a good team. They are level on points with the league leaders in France. Beating a team like that is good for us and for Turkish football.

Okan Buruk: We went 1–0 up, we were delighted, but even I, standing on the touchline, couldn’t help thinking about how we’d taken the lead in the previous two matches… You experience it psychologically. After going 2–1 down, we came very close to creating a goal-scoring opportunity, but it required some skillful play. Sallai’s classy moves for the second goal, combined with Batrakov being in the right place, made it 2–2. Once it reached 2–2, we improved our play in the second half. We’d been working on scoring from corners. They let a team score at the near post in a league match, and they let Arsenal score too. Scoring a goal like that was particularly pleasing. After going 3–2 up, our confidence soared. It was a great match. Playing well and winning made us even happier.

Okan Buruk: I told my players, ‘If we want to stay in the Champions League, this match is crucial.’ I congratulate them. Turkish fans were all over the stadium, and I’d like to thank them. They support us everywhere.

Okan Buruk: I would like to thank the great Galatasaray supporters and all the Turkish fans who came to support us.

Q: "Three of the four goals came from short players: Yunus, Batrakov and Torreira..."

Okan Buruk: As a short midfielder myself, I’ve scored plenty of headers. The key is being in the right place at the right time. Batrakov was in the right place at the right time. It was a corner; we’d analysed the opposition and seen they’d left the near post unmarked, so we played it there. Yunus scored a fine goal too.

Okan Buruk: We’re facing a very packed fixture list. It’s not just the teams we’re used to this but many of our players have played four international matches in a row. The compression of this international break has significantly increased fatigue and the risk of injuries. We saw the injuries in the PSG v Barcelona match too. The new rules are increasing the time the ball is in play. This, in turn, can increase wear and tear and the risk of injury. So, God willing, we’ll carry on in the best possible way with our players at full strength and injury-free. Singo is back. Leao is the only one injured. Hopefully, we’ll be stronger. We’re stronger when we’re a full squad. We haven’t been a full squad since the start of the season. You’re only just starting to see Batrakov playing his second or third match alongside his teammates. We can say the same for Leao. The more we play together, the better our performances will be.

Q: There have been pivotal matches on the road to success over the past four seasons. You came back from 2–1 down to win 4–2. Would you agree with that assessment?

Okan Buruk: It was a very important win in terms of timing. It was an away win last season, we only managed a 3–0 victory away at Ajax. On the other hand, we’ve got the derby coming up on Monday. This was also a significant morale boost for us ahead of that.

On Batrakov:

Okan Buruk: You come across many players during the transfer window. The most important thing is that he’s a team player. Batrakov is a good team player. He’s hungry to play football. I think that’s very important. He’s hungry for success. He’s excited about the Champions League. He has the desire to succeed. There are many qualities in his professionalism and team spirit. He’s a passionate player. That’s one of the most important things in football. He gives 100 per cent and tries to do exactly what we ask of him. He’s a player who looks to get into the penalty area and delivers effective final passes. The more he gells with his teammates, the better he’ll become.

Okan Buruk: There was a very poor referee in the Sporting match, and a very poor VAR official. Today there was a good referee and a good VAR official. It was the right decision to disallow our penalty today. In the Sporting match, he didn’t award our penalty and didn’t show the red card that should have been given. We lost the Sporting match due to a major refereeing error. Once we fell behind 3–1 we couldn’t turn it around. Today, we reacted immediately after going 2–1 down. Going into half-time at 2–2 was crucial. I’ve told my players this many times. We were also ahead in the Barcelona match, but we fell apart after it went to 1–1. Today, we fought for the match right until the end. In that sense, this was a much more valuable match, because the players showed that fighting spirit on the pitch.

Okan Buruk: We’re analysing the matches. We’re trying to analyse our previous matches properly. It’s not all about positioning; mental strength is also very important. They tried to demonstrate this on the pitch. There was a great atmosphere in the changing room at half-time. That was lovely. The players discussed their positioning. It was also very good that they reacted like that. They demonstrated this very well in the second half.

Okan Buruk: We’d be in possession; we knew that before the match. The Barcelona match was different. Lille aren’t a team that apply high pressure. I started with Sara, who has better ball control. He did well when we had the ball, but this team’s defence isn’t just about Sara. The pressure starts from the front. He tried to carry out the tasks we set him until the 60th minute. Naturally, at 4–2, I wanted to bring on a defensive player. I’m also pleased with Gabriel Sara’s performance.

https://x.com/samiyengundem/status/2112986320205222267

We scored the first goal early on, then conceded straight away. We shouldn’t have let our heads drop when we conceded, nor at those crucial moments – we handled that well this time. We showed the reflexes of a top-class team. We wanted to win this match and turn our form around; thank goodness we did.