Victor Osimhen has sent a message to Galatasaray’s title challengers after scoring two goals in their 2-1 victory over Fenerbahçe in the Istanbul derby on Monday.
The Nigerian striker found the net in the 29th and 44th minutes at RAMS Park.
Osimhen first converted a pass from Barış Alper Yılmaz and then headed in a cross from Davinson Sánchez, giving Galatasaray a two-goal lead at halftime. İrfan Can Kahveci scored for Fenerbahçe with an overhead kick in the 62nd minute, but Galatasaray held on to win.
This victory puts Galatasaray at the top of the Super Lig with 22 points, six ahead of their rivals. It also brings Osimhen's tally to nine goals and three assists in nine matches across all competitions.
After the match, the 27-year-old expressed gratitude to his teammates and the coaching staff.
“This victory, I have to say a very big thank you to my teammates for their concentration, resilience, hard work and everybody, absolutely everybody,” he said.
“Inshallah, more to come from the boys and everyone.”
Osimhen noted that winning important matches is key to their title hopes. “Winning derbies is important if you want to become champions. We want to lift every trophy, whatever the competition,” he said.
He also addressed the criticism about his recent form and body language leading up to the game.
“There were discussions before the match this week. I love this club. I always say it,” he stated.
“I will give everything for this club. I do not care about social media. I see the fans.”
With this brace, Osimhen has scored five goals in six matches against Fenerbahçe. He remains unbeaten in those games, with four wins and two draws. According to Opta, he is the second Galatasaray player to score against a Fenerbahçe team managed by İsmail Kartal in the league, following Wesley Sneijder in October 2014.
Osimhen also talked about his chemistry with new signing Aleksey Batrakov, who joined from Lokomotiv Moscow in August. He described Batrakov as an exceptional player and an incredible person.
The match ended in some confrontations after the final whistle, involving players like Fenerbahçe’s Archie Brown and Galatasaray’s Abdülkerim Bardakçı. Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk remarked that the game had been clean until that point and warned that penalties would follow.
“It was very chaotic, but unfortunately these tensions at the end of the match can manifest this tension even more,” he said.
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