2024-02-16 11:40:12
After the Galatasaray players’ 3:2 victory over Sparta on Thursday, the Turkish press praised the active performance of the Prague players and the overall level of the match. According to the media, the Istanbul big club faced a style of play that they are not used to from their opponents in their stadium.
Thanks to the gunner Mauro Icardi and the goalkeeper Fernando Muslero, he finally managed the opening duel of the Europa League playoffs.
“Galatasaray rose from the dead and took the match to their side in the last minutes,” wrote the newspaper Fotomac. “A difficult duel for the Turkish champion. Galatasaray won an important victory, although the opponent dictated the pace for most of the match,” added the Posta newspaper.
The Turkish press noticed the Spartan dominance in the opening act, which, despite many chances, Letenští lost 0:1 after a goal by Kerem Demirbay.
“In the first half, Prague were the better team. Apart from two situations, they did not allow Galatasaray to actively press for attacking actions and dominated the field,” recognized the newspaper Hürriyet.
“Sparta attacked high from the start, which caused problems for the home side. Galatasaray had to deal with a situation that they are not used to on their pitch, in the Turkish league opponents don’t usually play like that,” noted Fotomac.
Shortly after the change of sides, Angelo Preciado equalized and Jan Kuchta responded again to Ladislav Krejčí’s own goal. At 2:2, the guests equalized when the home team was missing the expelled Victor Nelsson.
“Sparta is a team with a clear vision and system, whose biggest weapons are set pieces and wing play. And that’s exactly how they scored,” wrote Hürriyet.
“Preciado is an excellent player, but Galatasaray has long-term problems on the left side of the defense. Also in the league matches against Samsunspor and Gaziantep, the opponent’s right back shone,” noted the newspaper.
In the 80th minute, however, Matěj Ryneš also received a red card on the other side, and in the opening minute of regulation, Icardi secured the victory for the “Lions”.
“The match was full of emotions with many twists and turns. Perhaps the most important match of the season was ultimately decided by Icardi, who had been in a slump in recent weeks. But against Sparta, he dropped down, created play and was effective. He showed again that he is a player for big matches,” he said Hurriyet.
“The Galatasaray players showed strength even when they were weakened. They were not afraid to take risks and at the cost of dangerous counterattacks, they finally created a decisive chance. Musler’s intervention just before the goal to make it 3:2 was a key moment of the match,” Fotomac recalled Tomáš Wiesner’s solo attack.
“Sparta ran out of energy in the end and lost their rhythm due to substitutions. After Ryneš’s expulsion, Galatasaray took over the reins of the match and finally decided in front of a great audience. After the goal for 3:2, the noise in the stadium was measured at 144.9 decibels,” Hürriyet added.
The media also pointed out the absence of Sparta in the return match against Letná, which will take place in a week. Due to three yellow cards, captain Krejčí and offensive support Veljko Birmančevič will be absent, Ryneš will receive a punishment for the exclusion.