VICTOR OSIMHEN’S move to Galatasaray was one of the stranger moves of the transfer window.
Osimhen? Eh? The world-class striker for Napoli? Shouldn’t he be joining the best of the best in Europe?
Rather than, with respect, a move to the Turkish league which, according to Fenerbahce boss Jose Mourinho, nobody watches?
Seeing Osimhen rip apart Ange Postecoglou’s injury-hit Tottenham in the first half here, it only reinforced that view over his curious loan switch to Istanbul.
The Nigerian centre-forward had two goals by half-time and could have had six overall were it not for a number of fine saves from Fraser Forster.
It was too much for a Spurs backline shorn of the crocked Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven to cope with.
They were not helped either by Yunus Akgun rifling in a bullet of a shot to give the hosts the lead.
There was a brief reprieve when 19-year-old Will Lankshear netted his first professional goal by finishing off a quality move to level things up.
But then even the teenager’s night was spoiled when he was sent off for two yellow cards inside seven second-half minutes.
Sub Dominic Solanke’s backheeled finish to give the ten men hope, but in the end Osimhen proved the difference.
This was always going to be Tottenham’s toughest test of the Europa League ‘league’ phase.
And with three wins out of three already on the board, it felt like a bit of a free hit.
A chance for “growth”, as Postecoglou might put it, for his young side to experience.
There were no ‘Welcome to Hell’ banners in the stands, as Manchester United were greeted with in Galatasaray’s old stadium in 1993.
But Postecoglou’s team were treated to deafening whistles every time they were in possession.
Honestly, it was so loud, that if it was anything like the noise at Besiktas when the played RB Leipzig in 2017, you could understand why Spurs loanee Timo Werner, playing for RB the German visitors at the time, asked for earplugs during the match.
Werner was one of six players missing through either injury or illness for Postecoglou.
It meant back-ups Radu Dragusin and Ben Davies started at centre-back and, boy, did they have a challenge on their hands.
Not just with Osimhen, though he was every bit as dangerous as expected, but also with the evergreen Dries Mertens
Still going strong at 37, the Belgian was threading through balls at will and had a hand in all three Galatasaray goals.
The hosts made a blistering start when Akgun let fly from just outside the box.
It was a rocket of a strike that Forster could do little about, despite getting a hand to it.
Spurs looked to be wilting in the atmosphere, frequently giving the ball away.
But then, out of nowhere, they were level on 18 minutes and it was a goal of real quality.
Versatile Archie Gray clipped a delightful ball over the defence which Brennan Johnson volleyed back across for Lankshear to turn into the net.
It was a landmark moment for the 19-year-old, who was released by Spurs’ arch-rivals Arsenal aged 16, and on only his second appearance.
Lankshear and Gray were two of three teenagers in Postecoglou’s starting line-up, plus Lucas Bergvall, while there were another three on the bench.
One of those was attacker Luca Williams-Barnett, who only turned 16 on October 1 and was due to be in school yesterday (THU) until his club pulled him out for this fixture.
It would be a tad harsh to say the rest of the half felt like men against boys, but Galatasaray’s experience and quality certainly took hold.
Forster denied Osimhen twice with two good stops but could do nothing about the ex-Napoli man’s excellent first-time finish when seizing on a Mertens pass for his first.
Nor could the ex-Southampton man prevent a clever volley from Osimhen back across him to make it 3-1.
There were more fine stops from Forster to deny Osimhen and a host of Galatasaray players after the break, leaving home fans baffled as to how they had not scored five or six.
Even more so when Spurs were reduced to ten men, after Lankshear was booked for a stray elbow and then again shortly after for a trip on ex-Norwich man Gabriel Sara.
The youngster looked gutted as he walked off the pitch.
But £65million striker Solanke, who came on shortly afterwards, made an instant impact by flicking home Pedro Porro’s cross.
It was hard to believe given the amount of chances the hosts had had, but Spurs suddenly sensed a leveller might actually be possible.
They had a decent chance for it too when sub Pape Sarr could have sent Dejan Kulusevski through but his pass was poor – leaving Postecoglou raging on the touchline.
Galatasaray were somehow hanging towards the end, but ultimately they got the win – thanks to the world-class centre-forward they are lucky enough to have.
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