Victor Osimhen continued his impressive form with Galatasaray last night as the Turkish club triumphed over PAOK FC from Greece with a score of 3-1 in the opening round of the newly-structured UEFA Europa League.

What was anticipated to be Osimhen’s inaugural official goal for Galatasaray, following his two assists in earlier Turkish Lig matches, was ultimately credited as an own goal by PAOK’s Ghanaian defender, Abdul Rahman Baba.

After a first half that Galatasaray largely controlled, the second half began with the same intensity, with the Turkish team maintaining their offensive pressure.

Just three minutes into the second half, Osimhen’s header from a corner kick was unintentionally deflected into the net by a hapless Baba Rahman, denying the Nigerian striker his first goal in Galatasaray colors.

Prior to that moment, Osimhen had narrowly missed a scoring opportunity just 20 seconds into the match, sending a header over the crossbar.

In the 67th minute, PAOK’s Giannis Konstantelias, who had squandered a clear chance earlier, redeemed himself by equalizing after Jonny’s cross-shot fortuitously rebounded into his path off goalkeeper Günay Güvenç’s glove.

However, Galatasaray quickly regained the lead just nine minutes later, as Osimhen provided his second headed assist of the night, enabling Yunus Akgün to strike the ball powerfully past Kotarski.

Galatasaray remained relatively unchallenged until the final whistle, with substitute Mauro Icardi elegantly scoring a third goal deep into injury time.

The leaders of the Süper Lig are strong favorites to advance to the knockout stages, having suffered only one defeat in their last 13 UEFA Europa League group-stage matches (8 wins, 4 draws). In contrast, PAOK continues to struggle in the competition, managing just one victory in their last 11 games (3 draws, 7 losses).

In another match, Nigerian international Fisayo Dele-Bashiru played a key role in Lazio's 3-0 victory over Dynamo Kyiv. He set up Matías Vecino for a brilliant finish into the top corner with a perfectly timed pass, and later, Boulaye Dia scored his second goal of the night with a close-range header.

The home team made a concerted effort to score before halftime, but Lazio's goalkeeper, Ivan Provedel, was resolute, denying attempts from Volodymyr Brazhko and Andriy Yarmolenko.

Earlier in the match, Boulaye Dia had opened the scoring for Lazio in the fifth minute.

AZ Alkmaar 3-2 Elfsborg.