Victor Osimhen believes that Galatasaray could have beaten AZ Alkmaar whom they faced in the fifth match of the UEFA Europa League regular season.
Galatasaray rescued a point courtesy of a goal from Victor Osimhen against AZ Alkmaar at the AFAS Stadion to make it 15 straight unbeaten games following a 1-1 draw in the UEFA Europa League (UEL).
AZ, fresh off a 3-1 win over Galatasaray’s hottest rivals, Fenerbahce in their last Europa League matchday, struck early as Fernando Muslera’s weak punch fell invitingly to Sven Mijnans, who calmly drilled a low shot into the middle of the net inside the opening two minutes.
The Lions nearly fell further behind moments later, surviving close efforts from Ruben van Bommel and Mayckel Lahdo, before Van Bommel came painfully close again, firing wide of the right post from inside the box.
Osimhen then saw his powerful header brilliantly denied on the line by Jeroen Zoet, as Okan Buruk’s men pressed to preserve their unbeaten run since August’s narrow UEFA Champions League qualifier defeat to Young Boys.
The ex-Napoli striker eventually found the breakthrough, nodding in Dries Mertens’ pinpoint cross past Peer Koopmeiners and narrowly over the line, setting the stage for a thrilling second half.
Kees Smit was sent off for a cynical foul in stoppage time before Galatasaray thought they stole all three points after Oshimen nodded home but the celebrations were cut short following a VAR review.
Osimhen, speaking to the Galatasaray TV YouTube channel in a post-match interview said the Turkish Super Lig giants could have scored the winner against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday.
“Obviously, we had a good performance tonight. The team we faced is also a good team. I think they were very successful individually and as a team. We created a lot of chances, we could have scored the second goal.
“I think we need to take the positive side, this is a point. I also want to thank our fans very much, they did not leave us alone in this weather and supported us throughout the 90 minutes,” the Nigerian concluded.
