Victor Osimhen: Galatasaray rue striker’s absence in Sporting loss – “A weak team”

Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen has seen Galatasaray's 3-1 UEFA Champions League opening defeat at Sporting CP attributed to his absence, Soccernet.ng reports.

Galatasaray travelled to Lisbon without Osimhen after the 27-year-old sustained a right adductor injury in the 3-2 Süper Lig win at Basaksehir last Friday that will keep him out for approximately three weeks.

The Yellow-Reds fell 3-1 at the Estadio José Alvalade despite dominating possession, and now face an uphill start to their Champions League league phase campaign.

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Galatasaray couldn't cope with Victor Osimhen's absence

Speaking on the Asist Analiz YouTube channel after the game, former Besiktas midfielder Sinan Engin was blunt in his assessment that Osimhen's absence was the difference-maker in a fixture Galatasaray should have been well-placed to compete in.

“Ball possession was Galatasaray's, but there was no result,” Engin said, per Haber Sarı Kırmızı.

“Perhaps [Sporting CP is] one of the weakest teams they could have played in the Champions League. I don't accept the idea of a flying, amazing Sporting.”

Engin went on to argue that the Turkish champions' underlying performance would have been a far more competitive result had the ex-Napoli man been available.

“If Galatasaray had been slightly better, and if Osimhen had been there, this game would have been very different,” he added.

The Super Eagles striker had scored six goals in his opening four Süper Lig appearances of the 2026/27 campaign before the Basaksehir injury.

Head coach Okan Buruk deployed Turkish international Baris Alper Yilmaz through the middle in Osimhen's absence, a decision Engin criticised heavily.

“In this match, Baris Alper Yilmaz played as a centre-forward. Last year we talked about a €50-60 million offer, whether accurate or not, but he doesn't have a single shot on goal,” the 61-year-old said.

“When I praise Baris Alper, I get messages saying, ‘You're overrating him; he has no goals or assists for the national team, why are you praising him this much?' Baris Alper is misleading us.”

The Turkish pundit added that Galatasaray had failed to strengthen the striker department properly across the summer window despite Osimhen's known injury history.

“Galatasaray was going to sign one more top-class centre-forward. ‘I'll handle it with Baris Alper, I'll move Lemina to defence' doesn't work,” Engin continued.

“Galatasaray plays the ball, but there's no one to finish the job. If Sporting had been a slightly better team, the result would have been very different.”

The Nigerian's 3-4 week absence timeline will keep him out of Nigeria's opening 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Madagascar on 23 September and Guinea-Bissau on 27 September as well.

Galatasaray's Champions League path is now harder

Galatasaray now face Barcelona on Matchday 2 in a fixture where Osimhen is still not confirmed to be available.

Buruk's side will need to reset quickly to avoid an early hole in the Champions League league phase, with Osimhen's return targeted for late September or early October.