Victor Osimhen and two of his teammates have earned the praises of another player as head coach Okan Buruk weighs his options to replace the suspended striker......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>
Galatasaray will face AZ Alkmaar in the knockout playoffs of the UEFA Europa League after finishing out of the automatic qualification spot, with the first leg played in the Netherlands.
According to A Spor, Galatasaray will be without Victor Osimhen, Davison Sanchez, and Lucas Torreira after they all accumulated three yellow cards in the group stage.
The Super Eagles star will be the team’s biggest miss after scoring five goals and one assist in six games in the group stage, including against Dutch oppositions AZ Alkmaar and AFC Ajax.
Buruk considers Osimhen’s replacement
Head coach Okan Buruk must decide how or who to replace Osimhen, the Nigerian forward who will miss today’s game due to suspension.
Buruk started Osimhen and Alvaro Morata for the first time during the abandoned Adana Demirspor clash, and the Napoli-owned start gave a penalty to the new loanee.
The manager is unfazed, admitting he trusts the available players even though he has a depleted traveling squad due to suspension and injuries.
“We have important absences, there are suspended players, I have injured players,” he told GS TV.
“We did not come here with a very large squad, but I trust the 11 that will start. I trust our friends who will continue. Hopefully, we will try to gain a significant advantage for the second match.”
“When we look at our suspended and injured players and the players who left, we do not have approximately 8-9 players compared to that match. We will not have this squad size today, but I can say that we have a very good 11 and that we have a very good 11 who will fight to beat our opponent here and to win against them,” he concluded.
Yilmaz praises Osimhen and others
Buruk is expected to go with a strike duo of Dries Mertens and Morata, and both players, including Osimhen, have earned praise from their teammate Baris Alper Yilmaz.
“Morata is a really great player. We have really high-quality players like Osimhen and Dries Mertens. They help us a lot on the pitch. We, the young players, are very happy if we learn something good from them. We are very lucky to play with them. They are lucky to play with me,” he said.
Osimhen defends Jose Mourinho
Legit.ng reported that Osimhen defended Jose Mourinho after the Fenerbahce manager aimed a sly dig at Galatasaray after their match against Adana Demirspor was abandoned.
Mourinho taunted the rival team over a controversial penalty against Demirspor, which they protested and led to the suspension of the match on Sunday.