Istanbul moves quickly from one continental appointment to the next, and Galatasaray will meet Barcelona on Tuesday with a hard-earned domestic win behind them. Okan Buruk’s side defeated Kasimpasa 3-1 in added time on the seventh weekend of the Turkish Super Lig, recovering from a second-half red card to finish the night provisionally at the top of the table.
The match came just before Barcelona’s arrival for the second round of the Champions League league phase, scheduled for 21:00 in Istanbul. Buruk initially left Ilkay Gündogan and Victor Osimhen among the substitutes, with the European fixture clearly in mind. Osimhen and Mario Lemina had both received medical clearance only the day before the game.
A testing evening before Barcelona
Galatasaray took the lead on the stroke of half-time when Abdülkerim Bardakci headed home following a wide free-kick. Yet the hosts’ control disappeared in the 63rd minute. Lucas Torreira was shown a straight red card after a VAR review determined that he had stopped Thiemoko Diarra from reaching a clear scoring opportunity.
The dismissal may also carry consequences beyond the Kasimpasa fixture, with the Uruguayan midfielder now at risk of missing the derby against Fenerbahçe. Kasimpasa took advantage almost immediately: four minutes after Torreira’s departure, substitute Jesuran Rak-Sakyi levelled the score.
Rather than settling for a point, Galatasaray found another response with ten men. Alper Yılmaz restored their advantage in the 90th minute, before Lemina marked his return from injury with a goal six minutes into stoppage time. Osimhen, brought on in the 77th minute in place of Gul after missing three matches, supplied the assist for the final goal.
The result lifted Galatasaray to 16 points, three ahead of Amed SK, who were due to visit Gençlerbirligi. It also followed last week’s defeat to Trabzonspor, making the late surge against Kasimpasa particularly valuable.
Barcelona therefore arrive to face a side encouraged by resilience as much as by its league position. Galatasaray will seek their first Champions League victory, with Osimhen and Lemina back in the frame and the noise of Istanbul ready for another European night.
