'He'll go to better places' - Dries Mertens pays tribute to Osimhen after another assist for Galatasaray

Victor Osimhen played the full ninety minutes as Galatasaray earned bragging rights in the Intercontinental Derby, after securing a 3-1 victory over Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce at the Ülker Stadyumu FB Şükrü Saraçoğlu Spor Kompleksi on Saturday evening.

With the victory over their Istanbul rivals, Galatasaray made it six wins out of six, equaling their best start to a Turkish Super Lig season, which was first set during the 2009-2010 season under the iconic Dutchman Frank Rijkaard.

In the 28th minute, Galatasaray doubled their advantage as Osimhen skillfully laid the ball down with his chest in the box, allowing Dries Mertens to tap it past Livakovic for the second goal.

Osimhen and Dries Mertens have a perfect understanding of each other as they played together at Napoli for two years before the Belgian transferred to Galatasaray in August 2022.

Of the 36 times they have been on the pitch together, the Nigerian and Belgian have a joint goal participation of three, with Mertens assisting Osimhen to score once and the reigning African Footballer of the Year assisting two goals scored by the 2018 World Cup star. 

Speaking after the Istanbul derby, Mertens had nothing but praise for Osimhen and was delighted he chose to join Galatasaray after proposed moves to Chelsea and Al-Ahli fell through on deadline day last month. 

In quotes relayed by Galatasaray's official website, Mertens stated: "Frankly, I am very happy that he came here. He is an incredible player, I know he can do even better, we will see that in the future. 

“However, it is a great advantage for him to join us. He did not have a good preparation period, but he is a very important player for us and I think he will go to better places.”

Osimhen's assist against Fenerbahce marked the first time he has provided assists in back-to-back games since September 2019 while wearing the colours of Lille.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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