Liverpool manager, Arne Slot has said that the early injury sustained by Super Eagles and Galatasaray forward Victor Osimhen in the early minutes of their round of 16 tie Wednesday helped his team defeat the Turkish champions Wednesday.
The Reds secured their spot in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals after a commanding 4-0 victory at Anfield.
Liverpool entered the night trailing by a goal from the first leg at Rams Park in Istanbul last week and Galatasaray depended on Osimhen to stop Slot’s army.
Speaking after the game, Slot praised Osimhen, acknowledging that the injury changed the complexion of the tie.
“Osimhen is an incredible player for them,” Slot noted. “Yeah, [the injury] worked for us, but when you look at the first 10 minutes and how the team played with him, I thought he would play the full 90 because the rest of the team plays so well off him,” Slot said.
Slot also touched on the relief of not having to face a fully fit Osimhen for the duration of the match.
“He’s shown many times in his career that he can score a goal all of a sudden. It’s not nice to see any player get injured, but he’s been very influential on Galatasaray’s performance,” Slot added.
“It was a difficult task for us when we played them in their stadium, largely because of their fans. It is a huge advantage for us to get ahead without conceding when facing that kind of pressure.”
