Gala Locks Down Liverpool: Galatasaray vs Liverpool Round of 16 Game 1 Recap
- therookiereporters
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
The rematch of the League Phase takes place in Istanbul. In the first game of the Round of 16 of the Champions League, Galatasaray hosts Liverpool at Rams Park.
After knocking down Juventus in the Knockout Play-Offs, Galatasaray was either gonna be drawn against Liverpool or Tottenham for the next round. Liverpool ended up being their opponents, who they’ve faced 5 times before, most recently in the League Phase this season. Galatasaray won 2 of the previous matches, Liverpool ended up victorious on only one occasion and the remaining 2 concluded in a draw. Liverpool has a rough history against Galatasaray in Istanbul with 2 losses and a draw. Gala is coming to this game with extra morale after getting a derby victory against Besiktas on the weekend, however, they must be careful in the first game.
The Lions have their manager, Okan Buruk, and 7 of their players on the yellow card limit, including their star players like Osimhen, Lang and Ugurcan Cakir. Meanwhile, Liverpool directly booked their place in this round by finishing the League Phase in the 3rd place and wants to build some momentum after their FA Cup victory against Wolves. However, they’ll be without 5 players against Gala. Alisson, Bradley, Endo, Chiesa and Isak are not on the squad for the first game because of their injuries. Let’s not forget that Bradley and Curtis Jones are on the yellow card limit as well. So, it’s time to have a look at the first eleven for game 1:
Galatasaray XI: Cakir - Singo - Sánchez - Bardakci(c) - Jakobs - Torreira - Lemina - B.A. Yilmaz - Sara - Lang - Osimhen
Liverpool XI: Mamardashvili - Gomez - Konaté - Van Dijk(c) - Kerkez - Gravenberch - Mac Allister - Salah - Wirtz - Szoboszlai - Ekitiké
Galatasaray would like to keep their unbeaten home streak against Liverpool without losing anyone before the return game. And Liverpool would want to build some good momentum and also to take revenge for the League Phase game.
First Half
Galatasaray starts the first half anxiously, as they make some passing errors. However, the Lions pull themselves quickly and find an early opening goal in the 7th minute. Gabriel Sara crosses the ball from the corner, Osimhen headers it towards the 6-yard box and Mario Lemina sends the ball into the net with a header of his own. Liverpool find their first shot on goal in the 16th minute, when Ekitiké passes the ball to the unmarked Florian Wirtz. However, the German midfielder gets denied by the goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir. Konaté also tries his luck from long range, but his shot goes over the bar. In the following minutes, Gala pressurises Liverpool from the sides with more crosses and corners. Mamardashvili prevents the Lions from opening the gap by making crucial saves against Lang and Sánchez. Osimhen gets a chance as well after Konaté’s missed interception, but the Nigerian striker can’t find the target. Meanwhile, the Reds try to answer back with quick transitions to the Galatasaray box, but the Lemina-Torreira duo doesn’t let them go through the middle. In addition, Jakobs also marks Salah really well and doesn’t let him be effective for Liverpool's attacks. And with that, the first half ends with 1-0 for Galatasaray. Despite the panicked start, the Lions ended up dominating the ball possession and relentlessly attacked with crosses in the first half. Liverpool’s attacking efforts have proven to be fruitless so far and they couldn’t use the rare chances they’ve had. Van Dijk and Mamardashvili seemed decent in the defence, but the rest of it, especially the right side of Gomez and Konaté, was kinda worrying.
Second Half
The second half starts pretty similar to the first one, Liverpool attacks first, but more dangerously this time. Ugurcan Cakir stretches to save a long-range shot from Szoboszlai in the 46th minute and a minute later, Mac Allister just misses the target in the aftermath of Joe Gomez’s long throw-in. In the 62nd minute, Konaté makes a slow back pass that gets intercepted by Lang on its way to Mamardashvili and despite his best efforts to redeem himself, Osimhen ends up putting the ball into the net. However, because of an offside triggered by Baris Alper Yilmaz in the build-up process, the goal gets disallowed. The same Turkish international makes a faulty back pass of his own a few minutes later. Ekitiké reaches the ball and clears his defender to run into the Lions’ box, but Cakir denies him the opportunity to equalise. The Reds start controlling the game a bit from the 65th minute on and end up with another chance 5 minutes later. Szoboszlai’s cross from the corner lands in a chaotic pile-up of Liverpool and Galatasaray players and ends up in the Lions’ net. But after a VAR check, their goal gets ruled out, because Konaté handballed it into the net. Liverpool tries more shots in the next 10 mins, but the closest chance they get to equalise is an almost own goal from Sánchez, saved by Ugurcan Cakir. The Reds lose control and hopes of equalising, as Baris Alper Yilmaz and Victor Osimhen force Gomez and Konaté to make more mistakes with their remaining quickness and strength. In the closing minutes, Gala finds more opportunities with Singo and Sara, but both players fail to find the target. Gakpo makes one last long-range effort in hopes to equalise, but the ball goes barely wide. Probably one of the rare positive moments for Liverpool happens in the 90th minute, when Davinson Sánchez sees a yellow card, which rules him out from the return game at Anfield next week. And so, the final whistle blows as Galatasaray once again beats Liverpool 1-0 in Istanbul.
With this result, Galatasaray remains unbeaten against Liverpool at home and gets a crucial victory in the first game. Mario Lemina was chosen the Man of the Match with his goal and impressive midfield performance. Apart from him, Torreira also seemed decent in the defensive midfield and Jakobs closed that left side down, letting neither Salah nor Frimpong work properly. Let’s not forget about Osimhen, who once again made his impact on the scoreboard, and Sara, showcasing his quick footwork against Liverpool midfielders. However, next week will be at Anfield, one of the most difficult away games in Europe. Going there without a crucial defender, who had experience playing away games there, and with only one goal advantage, is most likely not safe enough. Considering the performance Galatasaray showed in Turin against Juventus, throwing away a 3-goal lead in 90 minutes, Liverpool has more than enough to hope for in the second game. However, the Reds need to become more clinical in front and more reliable on the back. Jakobs erased Salah, arguably Liverpool’s best attacking option for many years, from the pitch and the Konaté-Gomez duo was concerning in defence with clumsy mistakes. Arne Slot’s men have lots to play for next week, but they need to pull themselves together for sure.
In a nutshell, Liverpool’s plans for revenge have turned into deja vu, as they’ve lost 1-0 at Rams Park again. The return game is on 18th of March at Anfield Road and we’ll see who will emerge victorious to book a spot in the Champions League Quarter-Finals.
Article written by Emre Albas © Emre Albas 2026
