Who said what after Galatasaray’s victory over Elfsborg?

In the 3rd week of the UEFA Europa League, Galatasaray faced Swedish team Elfsborg. The yellow-reds won the match, which turned into a real goal duel, with a 4-3 score and increased their points to 7. Our columnists Uğur Meleke and Güntekin Onay evaluated the match in their columns.

Galatasaray and Elfsborg clashed in the UEFA Europa League’s 3rd week.

The match, played at RAMS Park, ended with Galatasaray’s 4-3 victory after leading 3-0 in the first half.

Galatasaray’s goals were scored by Mauro Icardi, Pettersson (own goal), Barış Alper Yılmaz, and Yunus Akgün.

With this result, Galatasaray secured their second victory in the Europa League, raising their points to 7, while Elfsborg remained at 3 points.

Our columnists Uğur Meleke and Güntekin Onay analyzed the match.

Uğur Meleke: “The 3-5-2 formation was an unnecessary risk”

I understand that a coach who has forwards like Icardi, Osimhen, and Batshuayi wants to experiment with formations to use them together. This is very natural. However, what I don’t understand is this: Why would you make the first 4-4-2 attempt of the season in the most critical game, the Young Boys return leg? And again, why would you try the first 3-5-2 in the Europa League? These experiments could very well be done in Super Lig matches like Adana, Hatay, Gaziantep, or Antalya. However, trying these tests for the first time against Young Boys and Elfsborg was risky, in my opinion.

In the first half, we saw a vibrant and high-quality Galatasaray in attack

Yesterday, Galatasaray came out with a 3-5-2 formation for the first time this season against Elfsborg. Of course, it was a different challenge for a team that has been playing 4-2-3-1 for 3 seasons and has an established positional routine. In the first half, there was a fantastic Icardi on the field. He threatened the goalkeeper 3 times with headers, scored one, and created a chance for Osimhen by dropping deep. We saw a vibrant and high-quality Galatasaray in attack in the first half.

In the complex wing defense, especially on Yunus’s side, positions were conceded. There were serious signals there, actually. But it seems that since the score was 3-0, these signals were ignored.

In all 3 European matches, they scored first but faced nightmares

This season, Galatasaray scored first in all three European matches. In all three games, they at one point had a two-goal lead. However, in all three matches, they conceded goals and faced nightmare minutes on the field.

Yesterday, too, when the score was 3-2 and 4-3, there was understandable concern. I see the main reason for this as stepping too far outside of their habits.

Galatasaray should use Osimhen and Icardi together at times, but I think these two methods make more sense:

1. Osimhen as a left or right winger
   One option could be trying a 4-3-1-2 formation with Torreira, Gabriel Sara, Kerem Demirbay, and Mertens in midfield. It would be a diamond midfield. The wing defense could be supported by Kerem Demirbay on the left and Gabriel Sara on the right.
   Alternatively, Galatasaray could stick to their classic 4-2-3-1 formation and use Osimhen as a left or right winger occasionally. Osimhen has played this role before in Belgium, Germany, and for his national team. This wouldn’t be a typical winger role, more of a forward on the wing, similar to how Henry played for Barcelona.

Güntekin Onay: “Despite everything, 3 points are valuable”
For Galatasaray, a fantastic first half turned into an inexplicable horror film in the final stages of the game. The yellow-reds started the game with incredible pace and pressure, leading 3-0 in the first 45 minutes, and they could have scored more. As we expected the gap to widen further in the second half, Elfsborg, who had barely threatened up until the 52nd minute, gained morale and confidence after making it 3-1. Once they scored a penalty and reduced the lead to one, a game that seemed easy suddenly became dangerous. Without Yunus’ goal, the last 10 minutes could have turned into a nightmare against the Swedish side.

Elfsborg is a typical Scandinavian team that never gives up
Like all Scandinavian teams, Elfsborg never gives up no matter the score. While they may not be a very technically skilled or defensively organized team, they are physically strong and stubborn. Without Davinson Sanchez’s crucial tackles and interceptions, the Swedish team could have had more chances in the second half.

Buruk’s attempts to increase tempo don’t always work
Despite Galatasaray’s high quality, they tend to fade in the final stages of games. Okan Buruk’s attempts to increase the team’s tempo with substitutions sometimes don’t work. Nelsson, for instance, showed rust from his lack of match fitness. Perhaps Okan Hoca wanted to extend the team’s height to deal with high balls, but Nelsson’s introduction disrupted the defensive balance, and his mistakes, like losing possession on the last goal, were noticeable. Despite struggling in the second half, the 3 points are very valuable. With the new competition format, every home win will boost Galatasaray’s chances of finishing in the top 8. Galatasaray is a fantastic team when they keep the tempo high and play dynamically, but they haven’t yet found their physical rhythm.