Liverpool Player Ratings vs. Galatasaray: Reds Suffer Round of 16 Setback

Liverpool were beaten 1–0 at RAMS Park for the second time this season.

Liverpool were defeated by a Mario Lemina header. | YASIN AKGUL/AFP/Getty Images

Liverpool have work to do at Anfield next week if they’re to reach the Champions League quarterfinals, as they were beaten 1–0 by Galatasarasy in the first leg of their round of 16 tie.

The Turkish champions thus repeated the result from their September league phase outing, which was decided by a Victor Osimhen penalty. The relentless Nigerian striker wasn’t on the scoresheet this time around, but he teed up the decisive moment, which came inside the opening ten minutes.

Osimhen’s header from Gabriel Sara’s corner fell kindly for Mario Lemina, who nodded home from close range to give Galatasaray the perfect start.

The first half was a back-and-forth thriller bereft of control, with Liverpool struggling to sustain pressure in their bid to restore parity. They had much of the game in the second half, and had a goal ruled out for an Ibrahima Konaté handball, but the visitors will depart RAMS Park knowing they didn’t do enough to earn a result.

However, a one-goal deficit is hardly disastrous with the return leg on Merseyside to come.

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One Thing We Can’t Ignore

It was a physical mismatch down Liverpool’s left. | Burak Kara/UEFA/UEFA/Getty Images

Liverpool supporters rejoiced when the saw a starting lineup without Cody Gakpo, but there was no room for exciting teenager Rio Ngumoha either. Instead, Arne Slot opted to start Florian Wirtz down the left-hand side, with the German recently recovering from a minor back injury.

Wirtz has found his stride in 2026, with his dazzling performance as Liverpool’s No. 10 in a 4–1 victory over Newcastle United offering a glimpse into Anfield’s future with their majestic German connecting defense to attack.

In a bid to establish balance amid their autumnal woes, Slot utilised Wirtz wide left with varying degrees of success, but his deployment in the role was a surprise on Tuesday night, and it didn’t pay off. Without Milos Kerkez advancing, Wirtz cut an isolated figure against the physically superior Wilfried Singo, who didn’t give him an inch in one-on-one situations.

If you play Wirtz wide left, he has to be given license to drift infield and work from between the lines, with fullback Kerkez supplying the width. Otherwise, the former Bayer Leverkusen star has little to offer. Even when Wirtz started to operate more centrally, which was evident in the second half, a lack of understanding with Kerkez meant Liverpool struggled to stretch Galatasaray’s backline without a reliable source of width down one flank.

Wirtz wasn’t completely out of the game; he missed two huge chances on either side of Mario Lemina’s opener, but Slot’s attacking configuration brought about unnecessary imbalance.

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Liverpool Player Ratings vs. Galatasaray (4-2-3-1)

Giorgi Mamardashvili replaced Alisson in goal. | Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC/Getty Images

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: Giorgi Mamardashvili—7.4: No clean sheet for the Alisson replacement, but he ensured Liverpool’s deficit wasn’t greater in the first half, as he produced two really smart saves. Commanding in the air throughout.

RB: Joe Gomez—6.5: Fared okay considering the lack of defensive support he was offered by the man ahead of him. Galatasaray’s overload meant Noa Lang could cut inside and deliver dangerously into the box.

CB: Ibrahima Konaté—7.0: Had his blushes spared by the linesman’s flag after a huge blunder, which allowed Osimhen to score. It was a chaotic night for Konaté, who struggled to offer any semblance of tranquility in Liverpool’s vulnerable defense.

CB: Virgil van Dijk—7.2: Galatasaray had so much success, especially in the first half, crossing into the Liverpool box, with Van Dijk struggling to command his troops.

LB: Milos Kerkez—6.6: Deer in the headlights with the ball at his feet for the most part, and his night was always going to end early when he received a silly booking in the first half. Has to provide more as an attacking outlet.

DM: Ryan Gravenberch—6.8: Produced a couple of lovely turns in midfield, but was often cynically hacked down by the hosts to prevent any trouble from brewing further upfield.

DM: Alexis Mac Allister—6.4: Another night where the game seemed to pass Mac Allister. Foul magnet, and missed a good chance at the start of the second half.

RW: Mohamed Salah—6.5: His withdrawal on the hour mark told the whole story. Salah was ineffective in Istanbul and a master of breaking down Liverpool’s attacks.

AM: Dominik Szoboszlai—6.5: Not even Szoboszlai could salvage the Reds in Istanbul. The Hungarian was erratic in possession, stymying a couple of dangerous counterattacks.

LW: Florian Wirtz—6.8: Made his first start since recovering from a back injury, but Wirtz, after missing a pair of gilt-edge openings early on, was withdrawn, having struggled to assert himself in a role that simply doesn’t suit him.

ST: Hugo Ekitiké—7.2: Liverpool’s biggest threat on the night, but the Frenchman should’ve equalised midway through the second half when he capitalised on another Galatasaray error.

SUB: Jeremie Frimpong (60’ for Salah)—6.0: An improvement on Salah, but Frimpong didn’t quite have the desired effect. Decision-making was subpar in the final third.

SUB: Andy Robertson (60’ for Kerkez)—6.1: Made an immediate mistake after entering the fray and never looked completely comfortable for the 30 minutes he was on the pitch.

SUB: Cody Gakpo (73’ for Wirtz)—6.1: There was plenty of cutting infield without making a decision; vintage Gakpo stuff, really.

Subs not used: Freddie Woodman (GK), Kornel Misciur (GK), Curtis Jones, Trey Nyoni, Amara Nailo, Kieran Morrison, Rio Ngumoha.

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What The Ratings Tell Us

Salah continues to look like a shell of his once-inevitable self. | Hakan Akgun/Anadolu/Getty Images

• There had been hope that Mohamed Salah’s double goalscoring success last week would reignite the Egyptian’s season at a crucial juncture, but if this performance is anything to go by, it’s going to be more of the same the rest of the way. Salah didn’t once look like beating his man or offering anything remotely positive for the visitors. Moreover, his lack of defensive support proved an issue.
• This was another disjointed attacking showing from Liverpool, but Hugo Ekitiké offered as much as he could to disrupt Galatasaray’s defense. The Frenchman varied his movements superbly, and is such a fluid connector when the ball arrives at his feet. Runs in behind kept the hosts honest, but he couldn’t make the most of his moments in front of goal. Imagine how good in a framework that’s not completely reliant on individual sequences of magic.

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The Numbers That Explain A Slack Liverpool Performance

Galatasaray edged Liverpool in Istanbul. | Abdulhamid Hosbas/Anadolu/Getty Images

• Galatasaray were deservedly ahead at half-time, as they outgunned Liverpool on the xG front 1.23 to 0.44.
• The Reds were improved after the restart, upping their xG for the night to 1.28, but they struggled to create clear-cut openings after Wirtz’s early misses.
• Both teams ended the first leg with passing accuracies below 80%, depicting the imprecise and chaotic nature of the game. Liverpool suffered when chasing the game, with their inability to string together lengthy passing sequences limiting their ability to sustain control.

Statistic	Galatasaray	Liverpool
Possession	44%	54%
Expected Goals (xG)	1.44	1.28
Total Shots	15	6
Shots on Target	4	2
Big Chances	2	2
Passing Accuracy	71%	77%
Fouls Committed	11	18
Corners	7	4

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