Victor Osimhen moved up to third in the Turkish Super Lig scoring charts with a double as Galatasaray defeated Samsunspor 3-2.
Osimhen’s brace against Gala’s unlikely title rivals took his season’s tally to six goals, accompanied by two assists, in six league outings.
He’s joint third in the scoring charts, despite missing 45% of his possible fixtures, and, per Opta, is the first player since 2014-15 to score a goal or register an assist in each of his first six matches in the Turkish top tier.
Given the miserable circumstances of Osimhen’s departure from Napoli, and the raised eyebrows that accompanied his arrival at Galatasaray in September, there were no guarantees that he would take to life in Turkey; at least not as immediately as he has done.
The 25-year-old striker has some indisputable qualities, but his concerning recent injury track record and a spell of inactivity before securing the loan move to the Super Lig, as the door closed in Naples, didn’t represent the most convincing context for a switch to Istanbul.
Just over nine weeks later, Osimhen can look back on an outstanding start to life in Turkey, with his performance against Samsunspor equalling a 10-year record.
Osimhen has certainly hit the ground running, and proved influential as Gala have established a five-point advantage over fierce rivals Fenerbahce at the top of the table. He has also scored two goals and registered one assist in three UEFA Europa League outings.
On Sunday, he delivered arguably his finest showing for his new employers, opening the scoring with a trademark leap to head home Lucas Torreira’s cross inside the first minutes of the game.
Cameroon’s Olivier Ntcham equalised from the penalty spot for the visitors soon after halftime, but Osimhen restored the hosts’ lead five minutes later, capitalising at the back post when Okan Kocuk couldn’t deal with a high ball and sent it looping into the Nigerian’s path. A simple goal, perhaps, but Osimhen had the presence of mind to anticipate the goalkeeper’s fumble and reacted quickest to restore the advantage.
Michy Batshuayi added a third for Galatasaray before Youssef Ait Bennasser scored a late consolation goal from the spot.
The two headers capped a terrific individual display for Osimhen, who was a consistent threat. He won seven aerial battles, more than any other player on the pitch (the best average for the division is 4.3 won per fixture), attempted nine shots, and created two goal-scoring chances.
The Nigeria striker paid tribute to teammate Mauro Icardi, now embarking on his own road to recovery after sustaining a season-ending ACL injury in Thursday’s Europa League victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
Osimhen celebrated by holding up a replica of Icardi’s No. 9 shirt, and, despite Gala’s fine recent form, fans can feel robbed to have been denied the opportunity of seeing the pair — in tandem — tearing up Super Lig defences.
“[Icardi] is a strong leader for us, and I know he’ll come back even stronger,” Osimhen said after the match, although it remains to be seen whether the loss of last season’s top scorer will ultimately prevent Galatasaray from becoming the first side since 2000 to win three Super Lig titles in a row.
With the goals flowing for Osimhen, and his fitness problems behind him for now, a return to the international arena beckons after being named in the Super Eagles squad for this week’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin and Rwanda.
He netted against Benin in the reverse fixture in September before being part of a Nigeria forward line that was silenced by Rwanda in an ignominious 0-0 draw. If Osimhen brings his recent form to bear for Augustine Eguavoen’s side, don’t expect the three-time African champions to draw a blank again.
ESPN
