Galatasaray's Four-Star Show at Konyaspor: Osimhen, Akgün, Batrakov and Leão Deliver

Galatasaray left the Medaş Konya Büyükşehir Stadyumu with a 4-0 win over Konyaspor, a scoreline built on set-piece precision, a decisive second-half burst and a penalty from Rafael Leão. The visitors scored twice from dead balls, added a fast-break finish from Aleksey Batrakov and converted a spot kick, turning 54% possession and 2.66 expected goals into four unanswered goals.

Konyaspor, set up in a 4-2-3-1, matched Galatasaray's shape but could not match their cutting edge. The home side managed 46% of the ball and 1.31 xG, but only one shot on target across 90 minutes. Galatasaray, also in a 4-2-3-1, registered eight shots on target, six big chances and 27 touches in the box. The gap in quality in the final third was the match.

Victor Osimhen headed Galatasaray in front in the 12th minute from a Gabriel Sara assist, a set-piece routine that caught Konyaspor's back line flat. The goal carried just 0.05 xG, but the delivery and the finish were precise. It set the tone: Galatasaray would not need to overcommit in open play to find the net.

Yunus Akgün doubled the lead in the 28th minute, finishing left-footed from a corner delivered by Aleksey Batrakov. Again the xG was low — 0.02 — but the execution was clinical. Konyaspor had conceded twice from dead balls inside half an hour, and their 4-2-3-1 block had been picked apart without Galatasaray needing to break it down through central areas.

By half-time, Galatasaray led 2-0 with 53% possession and 0.86 xG to Konyaspor's 1.01. The home side had actually created more open-play xG in the first half (1.01 to 0.70), but they had just one shot on target to show for it. Galatasaray's four shots on target told the story of the scoreline.

Whatever Konyaspor changed at half-time did not stem the tide. In the 49th minute, Batrakov finished a fast break with his right foot, assisted by Sara for his second assist of the night. The chance was worth 0.40 xG — by far Galatasaray's clearest opening of the match — and it made the score 3-0.

Six minutes later, Leão converted a penalty, worth 0.79 xG, to complete the scoring. Leão finished the match with 1.59 xG, the highest of any player on the pitch, and his goal capped a performance that repeatedly stretched Konyaspor's back line.

Galatasaray's second-half dominance was total: 55% possession, 1.80 xG to 0.30, eight shots to four, four shots on target to none, and four corners to none. Konyaspor's 4-2-3-1 had no answer to the visitors' movement between the lines, and the substitutions only reinforced Galatasaray's control.

Galatasaray's 4-0 win was not a smash-and-grab. They outshot Konyaspor 16-9, put eight shots on target to one, won nine corners to three, and generated 2.66 xG to 1.31. Their set-piece xG (0.39) was nearly five times Konyaspor's (0.08), and their open-play xG (1.48) still edged the home side's 1.22.

Konyaspor won 35 duels to Galatasaray's 34 and committed 12 fouls to 11, but those small margins did not translate into chances. Their two big chances came in the first half; they created none after the break. Galatasaray, by contrast, created six big chances across the match, four of them in the second half.

Gabriel Sara finished with two assists, both from set pieces, and was central to Galatasaray's control in midfield. Batrakov scored one and assisted another. Osimhen, Akgün and Leão all found the net. For Konyaspor, it was a night of honest effort without a cutting edge — and a reminder of the gap between the Süper Lig's top side and the rest.