Match summary
Stuttgart almost took the lead in the eighth minute of a frantic opening in Istanbul. Maximilian Mittelstädt’s cross from the left found Jamie Leweling, whose close-range shot came back off the left-hand post before rolling across the goal-line, striking the right-hand post and bouncing clear.
Batrakov strikes twice
Four minutes later, Jeff Chabot – who was making his 100th competitive appearance for VfB – could only clear the ball as far as Aleksey Batrakov, who thumped home from 12 metres to put the home side ahead. Batrakov doubled his and Galatasaray’s tally three minutes later, collecting Davinson Sanchez’s pass before firing beyond Fabian Bredlow to make it 2-0.
There was no lack of effort from VfB, though, and the visitors almost pulled a goal back when Chris Führich curled narrowly wide of the far post in the 42nd minute – but the hosts’ two-goal cushion remained intact at the break.
Führich and Undav go close
VfB took a little while to find their feet after the restart, but Führich went close again when he powered a shot past the right-hand post in the 57th minute. Galatasaray goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir then did well to keep out a venomous long-range effort from Deniz Undav six minutes later.
Sebastian Hoeneß’s side kept pushing until the bitter end, but their hopes of staging a late fightback were all but dashed when Dzenan Pejcinovic was denied in a one-on-one with Cakir with four minutes left on the clock.
Goals
12th minute – 1-0: Chabot’s clearance lands at the feet of Batrakov, who finds the top corner from inside the penalty area.
15th minute – 2-0: Batrakov collects Sanchez’s pass and beats Bredlow in a one-v-one to double Galatasaray’s lead.
Reaction:
Sebastian Hoeneß: “We started the game well and managed to play our own game, despite the atmosphere. We had one or two opportunities before Jamie’s gilt-edged chance – scoring at that point would have been important for us. Galatasaray did just that with their first two attempts at goal, which was very hard to take. You can’t afford to play catch-up at this place, but the result isn’t an accurate reflection of the game. We went close to finding the net in the second half but just lacked that clinical edge. I’d have liked to see what would have happened if we’d managed to score. My players deserve credit – it’s just a shame that we didn’t get the result.”
Chris Führich: “We started the game exactly as we’d planned. We were unlucky with Jamie’s effort, but we were too passive in the build-up to their first goal. It’s very disappointing and frustrating that they got a second so soon afterwards. We had several good opportunities in the second half, only narrowly missing the target at times. On top of that, I also had a goal disallowed for offside. We weren’t able to score tonight, but we gave it our all and there were plenty of positives. We’re looking forward – we won’t let this knock us off our stride.”