Galatasaray beat VfB Stuttgart 2-0 at RAMS Park in Istanbul on Tuesday, with Aleksey Batrakov scoring twice inside the opening 15 minutes of their UEFA Champions League league-phase match to claim a second consecutive win in the competition.
Victory lifted Galatasaray to six points from four matches, according to UEFA’s matchday-four results, and continued their recovery after earlier defeats to Sporting CP and Barcelona in the league phase.
Batrakov opened the scoring in the 12th minute, firing into the roof of the net from close range after Roland Sallai’s pull-back was intercepted by Jeff Chabot and fell to him inside the box, Türkiye Today reported.
Three minutes later, Davinson Sanchez threaded a pass through the Stuttgart defence and Batrakov raced onto it to slot a finish through goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow’s legs from the right side of the box, making it 2-0.
Sports Mole noted that Batrakov became the first Galatasaray player to score twice inside the first 15 minutes of a Champions League match.
Stuttgart hit the woodwork before conceding twice
Stuttgart had threatened first, with Jamie Leweling striking the left-hand post in the eighth minute after Maximilian Mittelstadt crossed from the left, according to Türkiye Today.
Galatasaray goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir kept Stuttgart at bay after the break, tipping a 20-yard effort from Deniz Undav past the post in the 63rd minute and palming away a shot from Chris Fuhrich two minutes later.
Fuhrich appeared to score in the 76th minute, but the goal was ruled out after a VAR review found Undav offside in the build-up, Türkiye Today reported.
Stuttgart’s best late chance came in the 86th minute, when Undav played substitute Dzenan Pejcinovic through one-on-one, only for Cakir to block the shot with his feet.
Cakir kept Stuttgart at bay
Both sides finished with 13 shots, according to match data cited by Türkiye Today, with Stuttgart recording five efforts on target to Galatasaray’s four.
Stuttgart’s expected-goals figure of 1.78 was higher than Galatasaray’s 0.97, while Victor Osimhen had more attempts than any other player, with six, but did not score.
Referee Chris Kavanagh showed eight yellow cards in all, with five going to Stuttgart players and three to Galatasaray players, Türkiye Today reported.
Context for the result came from Galatasaray’s previous record against German opposition, with Türkiye Today noting they had lost six of their previous seven Champions League games against German clubs.
Their last win over a German side had come against Schalke 04 in March 2013, and they had failed to win any of their seven previous home games against German sides in the European Cup and Champions League.
Stuttgart had arrived in Istanbul unbeaten, with two wins and a draw from their first three league-phase matches, and remained on seven points after the defeat, according to Haberler.
Galatasaray’s win followed their 4-2 victory over Lille on matchday three, which had been their first win of the league phase, Türkiye Today reported.
Galatasaray will next face Aston Villa at RAMS Park in Istanbul on November 24, according to match reports, while Stuttgart’s next league-phase fixture has not been confirmed in the reports used for this article.
| Goal | Minute | Scorer | Assist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-0 | 12′ | Aleksey Batrakov | Loose ball after Sallai pull-back |
| 2-0 | 15′ | Aleksey Batrakov | Davinson Sanchez |
