AFCON 2025
Victor Osimhen has explained why he didn’t celebrate his goal against Juventus on Wednesday night.
The 27-year-old striker scored the decisive goal that brought Galatasaray back into the tie after the host led 3-0 after regulation time.
Osimhen’s goal in the first half of extra time truncated Juventus’ comeback win over the Turkish champions.
In a post-match reaction, Osimhen said he didn’t celebrate his goal for two reasons: respect for his former coach at Napoli Luciano Spalletti and due to Galatasaray’s poor performance on the night.
“Why didn’t i celebrate? There was no need to celebrate. I think it’s important to respect a man I love and had an important part in my career, I’m obviously talking about Luciano Spalletti.”
“We also played badly, even with the extra man, there was no need to celebrate, I saw all these people applauding Juve…and i respect that. However, I am happy with the victory, we move forward.”
Despite losing 3-2 on the night, Galatasaray progressed to the round of 16 7-5 on aggregate after the first leg ended 5-2 in Istanbul.
Galatasaray will take on either Liverpool or Tottenham for a place in the last eight of the competition with the draw set to hold on Friday.
