Osimhen Faces Suspension Risk Ahead of Galatasaray’s Champions League Clash with Liverpool
Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen could face suspension when Galatasaray take on Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night.
The Turkish club will host the English side at Rams Park in the first leg of their Round of 16 match, which kicks off at 8:45 pm.
Osimhen has already received two yellow cards in the competition this season during matches against Juventus and Atletico Madrid. If he gets another yellow card against Liverpool, he will miss the second leg of the tie in England next week.
Under UEFA rules, a player is suspended for one match after collecting three yellow cards in the Champions League, unless the cautions lead to a red card.
Galatasaray could suffer a big setback if Osimhen is suspended. The Nigerian striker has been one of the team’s key players in Europe this season and has already scored seven goals in the competition.
He is now just one goal away from matching the record for the most goals scored by a player from a Turkish club in a single Champions League season. The record was set by Burak Yilmaz, who scored eight goals for Galatasaray in the 2012–13 season.
Osimhen has also played at Liverpool’s Anfield stadium before. In 2022, he featured for Napoli in a Champions League match where the Italian side lost 2–0 to Liverpool. Earlier in that same season, Napoli had defeated Liverpool 4–1, with Osimhen winning a penalty during the match.
Despite the suspension concern, Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk has a fully fit squad available for the first leg in Istanbul.
However, Osimhen is not the only player close to suspension. Six other Galatasaray players are also one yellow card away from missing the return leg if they receive another booking.
Liverpool also have two players who could face suspension if they are booked during the match.
The two teams already met earlier in this season’s Champions League league stage, where Galatasaray secured a 1–0 win at home with Osimhen scoring the only goal from the penalty spot.
Galatasaray finished 20th in the league phase with three wins, one draw and four defeats. They later reached the Round of 16 after beating Juventus in the play-off round with a 7–5 aggregate score.
Liverpool had a stronger run in the league phase, winning six matches and losing two to finish third in the standings and qualify directly for the Round of 16.
The second leg will take place at Anfield on March 18, where both teams will fight for a place in the Champions League quarter-finals.
