Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen sustained an arm injury and had to be replaced as Galatasaray crashed out of the UEFA Champions League following a heavy 4-0 defeat to Liverpool in their round of 16 second-leg clash at Anfield on Wednesday night.
The result sealed a 4-1 aggregate victory for Liverpool, overturning Galatasaray’s 1-0 advantage from the first leg and bringing an end to the Turkish champions’ impressive European campaign.
Liverpool began the contest with urgency and were rewarded in the 25th minute when Dominik Szoboszlai scored from a well-worked corner delivered by Alexis Mac Allister to level the tie on aggregate.
The hosts continued to dominate proceedings but were repeatedly denied by Galatasaray goalkeeper Uğurcan Çakır, who produced a string of impressive saves. The shot-stopper was at his best just before halftime, keeping out a penalty from Mohamed Salah after Szoboszlai had been brought down in the box.
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Galatasaray’s hopes suffered a major setback when Osimhen, who had been visibly struggling with an arm injury, was forced off at the break and replaced by Leroy Sané. Sacha Boey was also withdrawn, making way for Noa Lang.
Liverpool capitalised and took control of the tie. Hugo Ekitiké doubled the lead in the 51st minute with a clinical finish before Ryan Gravenberch added a third just two minutes later to put the outcome beyond doubt.
Salah eventually got his goal shortly after the hour mark, combining neatly with Florian Wirtz before curling a fine effort into the net to register his 50th goal in the competition and extend Liverpool’s advantage.
Mac Allister thought he had added a fifth late on, but the effort was ruled out following a VAR review for a foul on Çakır. Nevertheless, the 4-0 victory on the night was more than enough to send Liverpool into the quarterfinals.
Galatasaray will now turn their attention to domestic competitions as they continue their pursuit of a league and cup double, while Liverpool advance to face defending champions Paris Saint-Germain in a highly anticipated last-eight encounter.
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