'Their first defender' - Respected pundit highlights the other side of Osimhen's game after historic goal

Respected Turkish journalist Serdar Ali Celikler, who was nominated for Sports Writer of the Year at the Okan University Sports Awards in 2017, has lauded Victor Osimhen for his remarkable work rate and defensive contribution in addition to his goalscoring exploits.

The Nigeria international netted a historic goal as Galatasaray defeated Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt on matchday three of the UEFA Champions League league phase on Wednesday evening at Rams Park.

Osimhen opened the scoring in the third minute, breaking two Galatasaray records in European competition. 

His strike made him the first Galatasaray player to score in seven consecutive European matches (excluding qualifiers), while the goal, timed at 2 minutes and 53 seconds, also became the earliest ever scored by a Galatasaray player in the Champions League.

After completing his first-half brace, Osimhen continued to influence proceedings. 

He played a key role in Galatasaray's third goal in the 60th minute, dispossessing a Bodo/Glimt player before setting up Yunus Akgün, who found the net at the second attempt after his initial shot was saved.

Speaking after the match, Celikler highlighted Galatasaray's aggressive pressing style and how Osimhen's energy has transformed the team's defensive shape from the front.

"Galatasaray will be a thorn in the side of any team that tries to pass the ball. That’s why I say, they will beat Ajax," Çelikler said on the Neo Spor Youtube channel, via habersarikirmizi.com.

"Icardi is not a good player in terms of attacking pressure, but Osimhen is. When Osimhen and Yunus Akgün play, the entire burden doesn’t fall on [Lucas] Torreira."

The analyst went on to underline Osimhen's impact, both offensively and defensively, pointing out that the striker played a role in Galatasaray's third goal. 

"Victor Osimhen is Galatasaray’s forward, their first defender. He also made one assist. He took the ball from the centre-back and allowed Yunus Akgün to score."

Osimhen has now scored three goals in this season's Champions League, a tally bettered only by Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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