Galatasaray made it difficult for themselves on Tuesday evening in the Champions League qualifying round. The team led by Okan Buruk turned around a deficit during their visit to Lithuanian side Zalgiris, but conceded a last-minute equalizer, resulting in a 2-2 draw. Former Sparta player Halil Dervisoglu scored for the Turkish team, assisted by Dries Mertens.
There was, of course, no sign of Wilfried Zaha at the Istanbul powerhouse, as the arrival of the Ivorian had only been announced to the world on Monday evening. One player who did start was Nicolò Zaniolo, the Italian enfant terrible who had come to Turkey in January. The Lithuanian champions put up a decent fight in Vilnius during the first half and became even bolder after the break.
Mathias Oyewusi found himself free to face the experienced goalkeeper Fernando Muslera and beat the Uruguayan goalkeeper in the far corner. Buruk decided to rely on his bench and brought in three players we still know from the Eredivisie: alongside Mertens and Dervisoglu, ex-AZ player Fredrik Midtsjø also entered the field, where Angeliño, another player with experience in Dutch football, was already standing.
Those fresh inputs helped. Fifteen minutes before the end, Abdulkarim Bardakci equalized to make it 1-1, and a few minutes later, it was Dervisoglu, set up by Mertens, who put the Turkish champions ahead in Vilnius. In the final moments of the game, the team conceded the equalizer, scored by Donatas Kazlauskas. The goalscorer then took off his shirt, earning his second yellow card and will be suspended for the next week's match in Istanbul.
In that match, Gala must aim to win. If successful, they will face either Ludogorets or Olimpija Ljubljana in the next round. If they manage to overcome that hurdle as well, there will be one final stage before reaching the main tournament.
