Okan Buruk explains Victor Osimhen's substitution in wake of Galatasaray' Europa League exit
Galatasaray technical director Okan Buruk has explained the reasons behind his decision to substitute Victor Osimhen from the game against AZ Alkmaar in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League play-off qualifying round despite getting on the scoresheet, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
The Nigerian striker was on target as the Lions played out a four-goal thriller (2-2) at the Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex as they were dumped out by the Dutch club.
Speaking in his post-match interview with the club, Buruk justified his actions to make the change; "Since our other forward Morata was injured, we took Osimhen off in the last 10 minutes. It wasn't the night we wanted. We were more hopeful. If we had scored the first goal, we could have gotten into the game even more. We can name a few names in good form in terms of performance, but we were below average in terms of team performance."
"We are 6 points ahead in the league. We want to continue this advantage. That is why the match we will play at home is the most important match of the year for us. We disappointed our fans today. We disappointed them in Europe. We have a very good chance to make them very happy.
"We are sorry on behalf of Turkish football. We had dreams such as winning, advancing to the next round, and going higher. We could not achieve this. I am sorry in this sense because we could not provide enough support in terms of country points.”
Galatasaray will now turn their action to the Super Lig as they hold a six-point lead at the top of the log.
Oluwadamilola Olaleye
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