Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen, opened his new Turkish Süper Lig campaign in style, scoring twice, but his efforts were not enough to earn Galatasaray victory as the champions were held to a 2-2 draw by newly promoted Çorum at RAMS Park on Friday.
The Nigerian striker, who was closely watched throughout the encounter, had Galatasaray’s best opportunity in the opening half when he rose to meet a cross in the 15th minute, but his header narrowly missed the target.
He later tested Çorum goalkeeper Marcos Felipe with a shot from the edge of the area, but the Brazilian was equal to the effort as the first half ended without a goal.
Osimhen eventually broke the deadlock eight minutes after the restart.
The forward raced onto a pass from Lucas Torreira before calmly lifting the ball over the advancing Felipe to give Galatasaray a 1-0 lead in the 53rd minute.
However, the hosts’ advantage lasted only six minutes before Alexandros Kyziridis produced a stunning long-range strike to bring Çorum level.
The visitors then completed a remarkable turnaround two minutes later when Jesús Ramírez punished a defensive mistake involving Davinson Sánchez to put Çorum 2-1 ahead.
Galatasaray were handed a boost in the 70th minute when Kyziridis was sent off for a challenge on Yunus Akgün, leaving Çorum with 10 men.
Okan Buruk responded by introducing İlkay Gündoğan, Eren Elmalı and Kaan Ayhan as Galatasaray pushed for an equaliser.
Their pressure finally paid off in the 90th minute, with Osimhen rising to meet Gabriel Sara’s corner and directing a powerful header into the bottom-left corner for his second goal of the night.
Galatasaray had seven minutes of added time to find a winner but could not break through again, with Felipe making several important saves to preserve a point for the visitors.
The draw represents a disappointing start for the reigning champions, who will now turn their attention to their next league fixture away against another newly promoted side, Erzurumspor.
Osimhen, meanwhile, begins the campaign with two goals to his name despite Galatasaray dropping points on the opening day.
