Victor Osimhen struck twice on Friday night as Galatasaray extended their lead at the top of the Turkish Super Lig with a commanding 3-2 home win over Samsunspor at Rams Park.
The 26-year-old Super Eagles forward opened the scoring in the 24th minute with a clinical finish after being played through by Barış Alper Yılmaz, then sealed the three points in the 68th minute with a powerful header from a Yunus Akgün cross.
In between, defender Abdülkerim Bardakcı had made it 2-0 just before half-time with a towering header of his own.
Samsunspor pulled one back through Olivier Ntcham in the 79th minute, but Galatasaray held firm to move eight points clear at the summit.
“Victor is in incredible form,” Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk told reporters after the match. “He scores goals, he works for the team, and tonight he showed again why he is one of the best strikers in Europe.”
“He’s happy here, the fans love him, and you can see the confidence in every action,” Buruk added.
The victory marked Galatasaray’s 13th league win of the campaign and kept their unbeaten home record intact.
Samsunspor coach Thomas Reis acknowledged his side’s struggle against the league leaders: “We knew it would be difficult. Osimhen punished us twice, and when you give a player of his quality those chances, the game is over.”
With the result, Galatasaray sit on 40 points from 16 matches, while Samsunspor remain in sixth place.
Osimhen and his teammates return to action next week in the UEFA Europa League against Ajax, before a top-of-the-table domestic clash against second-placed Fenerbahçe later in December.
