Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk has revealed that he substituted star striker Victor Osimhen during their UEFA Europa League 2-2 draw against AZ Alkmaar to prevent injury.
Galatasaray crashed out of the Europa League with a 6-3 aggregate defeat to the Dutch side, failing to overturn a three-goal deficit from the first leg despite managing a draw at RAMS Park.
Osimhen found the net, but his goal wasn’t enough to inspire a comeback as Galatasaray’s recent struggles continued.
The Turkish giants are currently facing a striker crisis. Argentine forward Mauro Icardi is out for the season with an ACL injury, new signing Álvaro Morata is sidelined with a hamstring issue, and Michy Batshuayi departed for Eintracht Frankfurt during the January transfer window.
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This has left Osimhen as the club’s only proven striker—an overwhelming burden as they continue their domestic title pursuit.
Buruk opted to take Osimhen off in the 80th minute, replacing him with 17-year-old Berat Lus for his second Europa League appearance.
Addressing the decision, Buruk explained that the team’s chances of a comeback were slim, and keeping Osimhen on unnecessarily could have been counterproductive.
“Since Morata was injured, we decided to take Osimhen off in the last 10 minutes. It wasn’t the night we wanted—we were more hopeful,” Buruk said post-match.
“If we had scored the first goal, we could have gained momentum. A few players performed well individually, but as a team, we were below average.”
With the Europa League campaign now over, Buruk is shifting focus to a crucial domestic clash against José Mourinho’s Fenerbahçe on Monday in the Turkish Süper Lig.
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