Osimhen Fires Blanks as Russian Gives Gala Hope of Reaching Knockout Stage

Duro Ikhazuagbe Victor Osimhen was in action for all 90 minutes yesterday but failed to hit the back of the net as Galatasaray defeated visiting VfB Stuttgart 2-0 to boost their hopes of reaching the UEFA Champions League knockout stage. Instead of Osimhen, it was Galatasaray’s Russian forward, Aleksey Batrakov, who fired the two goals in the space of three first-half minutes, that gave the Turkish champions their second win in Europe this season. The defeat was the first for Stuttgart this season having won two and drew one in their three previous games in the Champions League. Batrakov opened the scoring in the 12th minute when he fired home an effort after a Roland Sallai cross was cleared to him on the edge of the area. The Russian soon made it two when he was expertly played through by a low pass from deep by former Tottenham defender Davinson Sanchez, before slotting the ball through the legs of visiting keeper Fabian Bredlow. It was a difficult start for Stuttgart. Jamie Leweling nearly opened the scoring for the German side, but his low finish struck the far post, rebounded on to the near post and bounced to safety. They struggled to deal with the relentless Galatasaray pressure and relieved the hosts were wasteful in the final third or they would have extended their lead. Stuttgart thought they had pulled one back when Chris Fuhrich bent an effort into the far corner from the edge of the area, but his goal was chalked off for an offside in the build-up against Deniz Undav, who had hit the bar. The result gave Galatasaray back-to-back Champions League victories following their 4-2 win at Lille, moving them to six points after four matches, while Stuttgart remained on seven. Okan Buruk’s men host Aston Villa in their next Champions League game on 24 November (17:45 GMT), while Stuttgart are away to Inter Milan on 25 November (20:00 GMT). RESULTS Champions League Galatasaray 2-0 Stuttgart Atletico 0-2 B’Munich Shakhtar 0-1 Sporting CP Barcelona 3-0 Aston Villa Bodo/Glimt 0-0 Lille Feyenoord 0-3 Inter LASK 4-0 Sl’Bratislava Man Utd 3-2 AS Roma Villarreal 0-6 PSG TODAY AEK Athens v R’Madrid Fenerbahce. Liverpool Dortmund v Betis FC Porto v Napoli Lens v Como PSV v C’Brugge RB Leipzig v Man City Sl’Prague v Arsenal Viking v Sabah FC Europa League Rennes v Olympiacos U17 World Cup Japan v North Korea Brazil v Nigeria