Istanbul, March 10 (NA) -- Galatasaray defeated Liverpool 1-0 in Istanbul in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, striking the English team in Turkey once again, just as had happened in the group stage.
The team led by Okan Buruk secured the victory with a goal from Mario Lemina within the first seven minutes of the match in Turkey and will travel to Anfield with an advantage to decide the tie, as reported by the Argentine News Agency.
The match started intensely, and within two minutes, Liverpool had a clear chance following a mistake by Ugurcan Çakir during a goal kick and a turnover by Lemina near the area, but Florian Wirtz failed to convert with the goal nearly empty.
The home team's response was swift: at the six-minute mark, Gabriel Sara took a corner from the left, Victor Osimhen brought the ball down with his head, and Lemina struck to score the only goal of the night.
The game maintained a high pace with several key moments: Osimhen came close to a second goal with a header that went just wide of the post, while Liverpool responded with a shot from Wirtz that Çakir saved and a strike from Ibrahima Konaté that hit the crossbar.
In the second half, two goals were disallowed, one for offside and the other for a handball.
The English side pushed for an equalizer until the final whistle, but Galatasaray held on to their advantage, leaving the tie open for the return leg at Anfield.
