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The Turkish champions hosted the English champions at the Ali Sami Yen Stadium, where Galatasaray have gone 27 matches unbeaten.
Okan Buruk made five changes to the team that beat Alanyaspor to extend their 100% domestic record. Victor Osimhen, Ilkay Gündogan, Yunus Akgün, Mario Lemina and Ismail Jakobs all returned to the starting line-up, seeing Mauro Icardi, Leroy Sane, Gabriel Sara, Roland Sallai and Eren Elmali drop to the bench, switching back to a 4-2-3-1 shape.
Arne Slot made four changes to the side that tasted Liverpool’s first defeat of the season against Crystal Palace on Saturday, with Hugo Ekitiké, Cody Gakpo, Jeremie Frimpong and Curtis Jones replacing Alexander Isak, Mohamed Salah, Alexis Mac Allister and Conor Bradley.
Galatasaray started the game pressing in a narrow 4-4-2 shape. Gündogan and Osimhen would block the passes into midfield, and the centre midfielders would push up behind them in support when they pushed forward to press the centre-backs. The wingers would initially take up positions close to the midfielders to cover the centre, however when Liverpool passed wide they would rush out to press the full-backs.
Liverpool sought to play over this pressure a few times, yet they did also attempt to play through it too. Ryan Gravenberch and Jones were both happy coming short to receive the ball from the defenders despite the Galatasaray pressure. They did seem a little reluctant to pass forward though.
With Frimpong on the right instead of Salah, Liverpool defended in a more standard 4-2-3-1 shape, with the Dutchman tracking back in line with the midfielders, and even sometimes dropping back further when Jakobs pushed forward.
It made for a quiet start as both teams appeared to be feeling each other out.
Liverpool were often looking to find Frimpong on the right, or to play balls in behind for Ekitiké, while Galatasaray had Akgün drift into the centre, and he would attempt to play in Baris Yilmaz running in behind Dominik Szoboszlai.
The goal showcased examples at both ends. Gakpo slipped a pass in behind for Ekitiké, yet they couldn’t quite convert it, and then a misjudged backheel by Florian Wirtz saw Galatasaray recover the ball.
Lucas Torreira played the ball forward to Gündogan and the German had a frankly ludicrous amount of time to turn and play forward, getting six seconds under little pressure. He then returned the ball back to Torreira, and this pass saw five Liverpool players caught ahead of the ball. Torreira played the ball to Yilmaz, and he ran at Szoboszlai, winning a penalty that Osimhen converted.
The penalty decision was tenuous at best, however it could have been avoided if Liverpool had made more of an effort to pressure Gündogan, or get the attackers back into defensive positions. Instead, Galatasaray easily sliced through them and attacked the box.
Going behind seemed to prompt Liverpool to go up a gear though. They started to move the ball much quicker, using bounce passes to play around Galatasaray pressure, or having Milos Kerkez, or one of the midfielders drop in next to the centre-backs to help outnumber Galatasaray’s frontline and play out. They all of a sudden became much keener to actually attempt those passes to find players between the lines too.
While Liverpool were having success playing out, the greater risks they were taking were also punished by Galatasaray on several occasions, giving the ball away in dangerous areas. Galatasaray’s set-up meant they were able to surround players in central areas in particular.
The goal appeared to trigger something in Galatasaray too though. Rather than dropping off to protect their lead, it encouraged them to attack further.
Like Liverpool, they would have a midfielder, Lemina, drop back into defence to play around Liverpool’s frontline.
They would also spread wide to play out, drawing Liverpool’s players forward to press, and then use the space behind them to feed the ball into Akgün.
Galatasaray did drop off more in the second half to protect their lead, but they left Osimhen high up the pitch to threaten on the counter, and they would pressure any Liverpool errors to punish them.
Up to this point Liverpool hadn’t been great, but they hadn’t been terrible either. They were able to progress the ball forward, yet had struggled to actually create chances once they got it there. Their tendency to immediately send the ball wide to the wingers, rather than pushing forward through the middle to draw the opposition inside and create space for the widemen down the outside, didn’t help with this.
When the wingers got the ball they were often left relatively isolated, without good support to help create chances. It helped to showcase the difference in style between Wirtz and Szoboszlai in the attacking midfield role. Last season Szoboszlai would often make runs through gaps behind the full-back, helping to draw them away and create space for the winger, or provide a passing option. Wirtz generally doesn’t attack these gaps in the same way though.
To bolster his attack, Slot made a triple substitution after an hour, swapping Gravenberch, Gakpo and Frimpong for Bradley, Isak and Salah. This saw Szoboszlai moved into midfield and Ekitiké shifted wide left.
As a result Liverpool now outnumbered Galatasaray’s defence, as Szoboszlai pushed forward to join the attack, making those runs to attack the gap behind the full-back, while Bradley also did this too.
The problem now became that Jones was left alone at the base of the midfield, and so it became much harder for Liverpool to play out and actually get the ball into the attackers, often resorting to long balls to do so.
Minutes later, Slot introduced Mac Allister in place of Ekitiké, with Wirtz moving to the left. This would appear to be an attempt to win back some control in the midfield, but in reality it just saw Jones pushed forward into attack, leaving Mac Allister as the sole man at the base of the midfield instead.
Liverpool now had a stronger attack, but they were finding it harder than ever to actually get the ball into them.
This performance was nowhere near as bad as the Palace game, but Galatasaray’s victory was well-deserved, rewarding their bravery and extending their unbeaten run at home to 28 matches.
Back-to-back losses are never a good sign, and the international break can’t come quick enough to give Liverpool a chance to settle down and regroup.
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