Galatasaray continued their flying start to the Turkish Super Lig season with a 3-0 victory over Fatih Karagümrük on Sunday night, as Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen made his long-awaited second debut for the club.

The Lions got off to the perfect start when Barış Yılmaz curled in a beauty from the edge of the box after just 10 minutes, leaving goalkeeper Günay Güvenç with no chance. Karagümrük’s evening took a turn for the worse midway through the first half as Marius Trésor Doh received a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Davinson Sánchez.

Despite their numerical advantage, Galatasaray struggled to fully assert themselves until late in the second half. In the 74th minute, Yunus Akgün’s strike deflected off Fatih Kurucuk and wrong-footed the goalkeeper to double the hosts’ lead. Moments later, Okan Buruk introduced Osimhen, who looked lively and nearly got his name on the scoresheet with a powerful header that skimmed just wide.

The Nigerian also came close to an assist, slipping in Kaan Ayhan with a clever pass, only for the defender to balloon his effort into the stands. The job was finally completed in the 87th minute when Lucas Torreira picked out Mauro Icardi, and the Argentine clinically tucked away Galatasaray’s third goal.

Speaking after the match, head coach Okan Buruk admitted he wasn’t fully satisfied with the overall performance:

> “We didn’t start well. I don’t think we played very well for most of the match. We improved after the subs came on, especially when Osimhen and Icardi entered. They gave us more attacking strength.”

Buruk, however, expressed delight at Icardi’s strike and the boost provided by his attacking duo:

> “Icardi scoring made us happy, but we need to take things step by step. The Champions League is coming, and we’ll shape the team accordingly. After Osimhen and Icardi came in, our game improved significantly.”

The win means Galatasaray have made it two wins from two, scoring six goals and keeping two clean sheets as they look to build early momentum both domestically and in Europe.