Defeat in all-action clash in Istanbul

An eventful and, at times, crazy game in Istanbul ended in our first defeat in this season’s UEFA Europa League as we went down 3-2 to Galatasaray on Thursday evening.

Teenage striker Will Lankshear scored his first goal in our colours to cancel out a stunning opening goal from Yunus Akgun, only for the 19-year-old’s night to end in disappointment after he was sent off for two bookable offences in the second half.

Victor Osimhen struck twice in eight minutes to put the hosts in control at the interval and we were run ragged at times by the Turkish champions, who had a plethora of good goalscoring chances throughout the match but couldn’t add to their tally due to a mix of excellent saves from Fraser Forster as well as some poor finishing.

Instead, we rode out the storm and battled back after Lankshear’s dismissal with Dominic Solanke coming off the bench to reduce the deficit and in the end, it was the home side who were the more relieved team to hear the final whistle.

The crowd were boisterous at kick-off as expected but we settled quickly and had some good possession in the opening minutes, only to fall behind to a screamer with six minutes gone. A free-kick was headed out by Archie Gray, seemingly to a safe area 20 yards from goal but Akgun had other ideas and hit a fierce left-foot half-volley that flew past Forster.

It was the worst possible start and gave the home fans even more reason to crank up the noise, but they were silenced by an equaliser in the 19th minute – and what a moment for Lankshear. Gray’s excellent ball to the far post was cushioned perfectly by Brennan Johnson for the young forward to side-foot into the back of the net from six yards out.

The game was all action and the hosts almost went ahead again but Forster made a great save to deny Osimhen with Dries Mertens firing the rebound wide, while Osimhen had the ball in the net on the half hour but it was ruled out for offside. But Galatasaray didn’t have to wait long to restore their lead, Mertens releasing Osimhen after Radu Dragusin was robbed of the ball and the striker slotted home for 2-1.

Osimhen was the thorn in our side, always finding the space to create chances and, after Forster had made another top save to keep him out in the 38th minute, the dangerman struck again just seconds later as Mertens picked him out with a cross and he side-footed a wonderful volley into the bottom corner to extend the home side’s lead.

We made changes at the break, Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski on for Johnson and Heung-Min Son and we survived a couple of early scares, the first when Forster dropped a simple cross and Bentancur blocked a resulting shot on the line before Dragusin diverted Mertens’ 20-yard volley just wide with his head. Forster’s dangling foot somehow kept out Osimhen in the 56th minute as the chances kept piling up for the home side, while we had our first sight of goal of the second half but Lankshear’s shot lacked power and was saved by Fernando Muslera.

That was virtually Lankshear’s last action of the game as he was given a second yellow card moments later for a foul on Gabriel Sara and that made our task incredibly difficult, with Forster preventing the hosts from extending their lead with a superb save from Akgun’s rocket from 15 yards out.

However, this was an unpredictable game and we got back into the contest with a lovely goal from substitute Solanke, his clever flick from Pedro Porro’s cutback beating Muslera to give us renewed hope. Galatasaray kept coming forward in numbers though and had a Mauro Icardi goal ruled out for offside before Akgun drilled wide of the far post but the closing 15 minutes saw us come right back into the game as the hosts lost their way despite the numerical advantage.

A better pass from Pape Matar Sarr and we would have had a two-on-one attack and, when Muslera’s headed clearance way out of his goal landed at Kulusevski’s feet just on half-way, it looked like the equaliser was on its way but the Sweden international’s long-range effort was unfortunately off target.

Team news saw Ange Postecoglou make seven changes to the team that started against Aston Villa on Sunday, with youngsters Callum Olusesi (17) and Luca Williams-Barnett (16) on the bench for the first time, while Galatasaray had a familiar face at the back – Davinson Sanchez, who made 207 appearances for us between 2017 and 2023.

Match data

Goals: Galatasaray - Akgun 6, Osimhen 31, 39; Spurs – Lankshear 18, Solanke 69.

Yellow cards: Galatasaray – Mertens, Gabriel Sara, Torreira; Spurs – Dragusin, Kulusevski, Lankshear, Bissouma, Bentancur.

Red card: Spurs – Lankshear.

Referee: Lawrence Visser (Belgium).

Venue: RAMS Park.

Weather: Clear skies, moderate breeze, 14 degrees.