Super Eagles and Galatasaray striker, Victor Osimhen, has set his sights on securing a victory against Manchester City after his side played out a draw with Atletico Madrid yesterday night.
The 27-year-old recently returned from international duty with a bronze medal from the AFCON 2025 tournament, where he scored four goals and earned a place in the competition’s Best XI.
Osimhen was forced to withdraw from Nigeria’s semi-final encounter against Morocco due to injury, with the same ankle issue ruling him out of the third-place match against Egypt.
Despite those concerns, the forward was named in Galatasaray’s starting lineup against Diego Simeone’s side and completed the full 90 minutes of the contest.
Atletico Madrid took an early lead when Giuliano Simeone found the net inside the opening four minutes at RAMS Park, but Galatasaray responded in the 20th minute as Marcos Llorente turned the ball into his own net following a cut-back from Rolland Sallai.
No additional goals were scored for the remainder of the match, although Atletico Madrid largely dominated proceedings against the Turkish champions.
Speaking after the game, Osimhen admitted he had missed the Galatasaray supporters after spending a month away on national team duty with Morocco.
“Of course, I miss everyone so much, even the fans. We knew we’d play against a strong opponent before the game,” the former Napoli man said in quotes revealed by Galatasaray’s official website.
“I congratulate my teammates, in a 90-minute battle against a tough team like this, we did a good job against a great opponent.
“The game was like 50-50. In some places, we had a chance to finish the game, but I’m happy with our performance,” he stated.
The draw leaves Galatasaray needing a win against Manchester City in their final group-stage fixture to secure qualification for the play-offs.
A defeat would likely signal the end of their European journey this season, but Osimhen remains optimistic about their chances.
“Manchester City is one of the best teams in the world. We’re going to play a game. We’ll focus on the league, then we’ll focus on that game.
“It won’t be easy, but I trust my team. I’m looking at it positively, and we can get something out of there. Let’s play a good game as we played against Atletico, that’s the most important,” the 2023 African Player of the Year concluded.
Galatasaray are set to travel to the Etihad Stadium in seven days to face Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s side have already secured qualification for the play-offs regardless of the result, but a victory could strengthen their bid for automatic qualification to the Champions League round of 16.
