The week Galatasaray lost more than a match
Sporting CP 3–1 Galatasaray on Wednesday, in the Champions League, and the scoreline was kinder than the performance. Okan Buruk's side did not lose that game in the last twenty minutes. They lost it in the shape they walked out with, and the fan analysis that followed on Reddit picked apart the same weaknesses that Famalicão will now study before Sporting's next league outing.
That is the thing about a European night. It leaves a template behind.
The squad is thinner than the table says
Galatasaray sit 2nd on 10 points from 4, goal difference +6, and the league picture is fine. Form reads D W W W L. Erzurum were beaten 0–4, Göztepe 3–2, Başakşehir 2–3 away, and Çorum FK held them 2–2 at home. But four players are unavailable for the Kocaelispor squad (8), and Buruk is expected to drop a star name from the XI (7).
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The reported winter exit list is where the real story sits. İlkay Gündogan, Kaan Ayhan and Wilfried Singo are all named as candidates to leave in January (5). Gündogan has played almost no minutes this season, and Milan are already circling for a January move (1). Reporter İbrahim Seten claims the former Manchester City and Barcelona midfielder is eyeing the MLS or Saudi Arabia (5).
Singo's injury dates from before the Başakşehir game, and his return date is now set (13) (14). Gündogan's problem is not fitness. It is selection.
Osimhen's return is the whole season
Victor Osimhen went down with a groin injury against Başakşehir and his comeback match has now been identified (3) (12) (15). Every Galatasaray supporter knows what that means. Without him the attack has leaned on Gabriel Sara and Davinson Sanchez, both of whom scored in that 3–2 win over Başakşehir (16).
Sara scoring from midfield is a bonus, not a plan. A title race cannot be built on it through winter.
The January shortlist makes the club's own diagnosis clear. Galatasaray want Eduardo Camavinga on loan (9), a player who already turned down a £43m move to Istanbul and has since earned José Mourinho's trust at Real Madrid (10). Do not count on that one.
What to watch
Galatasaray host Kocaelispor on Sunday 13 September at 19:00 CEST (4) (7) (8) (11). Win, and the club goes top of the table (11). Buruk has beaten 25 of the 26 league opponents he has faced at least twice. Kocaelispor are the one he has never beaten: one draw, one defeat.
Then Trabzonspor away on Saturday 19 September (NEXT MATCH block). That is the week that tells you whether the Sporting night was a bad evening or a real crack.
