Victor Osimhen scored an early penalty as the Turkish giants beat the English champions in Istanbul.
Victor Osimhen scored an early penalty as Galatasaray beat an error-prone Liverpool, who lost goalkeeper Alisson and striker Hugo Ekitike to injury, 1-0 in a raucous Champions League clash in Istanbul.
The masked Nigerian striker blasted the ball past a diving Alisson when he stepped up in the 16th minute of the match on Tuesday, after Baris Alper Yilmaz went down following a swipe in the face by Dominik Szoboszlai.
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Liverpool made three changes to the lineup that suffered a first-league defeat of the season by Crystal Palace at the weekend, with Mohamed Salah on the bench along with record signing Alexander Isak.
Both came on in the 62nd minute when Liverpool made a triple substitution, with Salah replacing starter Jeremie Frimpong on the right wing, after Alisson had gone off injured and was replaced by Giorgi Mamardashvili in the 56th.
Ekitike, in the starting lineup on his return from a domestic suspension, went off injured in the 68th, on a bruising night for the visitors who had their chances but looked alarmingly vulnerable in defence.
The win was a first in seven years at home in the Champions League for the Turkish side, and a notable one, against opponents who were unbeaten in all competitions until last weekend and were now dealt two losses in a row.
Galatasaray could have been in front already in the second minute when Yilmaz caught the defence napping and went one-on-one with Alisson, who stood firm and shut out the danger.
Liverpool then missed a golden chance of their own in the 13th minute when Ekitike miscued the ball after getting into a scoring position, and Cody Gakpo had a shot cleared off the line on the rebound.
From almost taking the lead, Liverpool found themselves behind seconds later, when Osimhen stepped up and lifted the already volcanic crowd to the point of eruption.
The visitors had the chance to equalise in the 32nd minute, with another Ekitike shot blocked and Ibrahima Konate missing from close range, but continued to look vulnerable, and gave away a free kick on the edge of the area on the stroke of half-time.
The second half brought many substitutions but no change on the pitch, and Liverpool was still looking nervous in defence, with loose passing, as Galatasaray worked constantly to keep up the pressure.
Alisson limped off after saving from Osimhen, and Ekitike then pulled up after stretching for the ball.
Liverpool sniffed an equaliser in the 88th when referee Clement Turpin pointed to the spot, but the decision was overturned by a VAR review that decided that Wilfried Singo had played the ball ahead of Ibrahima Konate.
Galatasaray fans displayed banners protesting Israel’s war on Gaza at both ends of the pitch, and there was a tribute to the late Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, before the kickoff.
Liverpool coach Arne Slot said he was “disappointed” with the result and claimed that Szoboszlai “did nothing wrong” in conceding the penalty.
“[Yilmaz] felt a little flick in his face, and he fell down. We are sometimes a bit outsmarted in situations like this,” he told Amazon Prime. “I cannot blame Dom in a situation like this.”
Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk said there was no need for his side to panic, but that they needed to cut out the errors.
“I hate losing, but there shouldn’t be panic, and there is improvement needed,” he told Amazon Prime.
“There was a big step up tonight from the willingness and the hard work that we put in compared to the weekend.
“Now we have to convert chances and not make stupid mistakes at times. It is a process, and we have to keep going.”
Elsewhere, Madrid shrugged off any travel weariness in a 5-0 win at Kairat Almaty in Kazakhstan, and Bayern cruised to a 5-1 win at Pafos in Cyprus.
Tottenham Hotspur needed an 89th-minute own goal to salvage a point at Bodo/Glimt, as they battled back from two goals down to draw 2-2 on Tuesday in the first Champions League game ever played inside the Arctic Circle.
Atletico Madrid romped to a 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt, with coach Diego Simeone watching from the stands following his suspension for an altercation with a Liverpool fan in the team’s previous Champions League game.
Jose Mourinho blew a kiss to Chelsea supporters on his return to Stamford Bridge with his Benfica team.
A Benfica player scored, but it was an own goal from Richard Rios that decided the result, a 1-0 win for Chelsea, who had Joao Pedro sent off late.
Marseille beat visiting Ajax 4-0, and Lautaro Martinez scored twice to lead Inter Milan to a 3-0 win at home over Slavia Prague.
