Mario Lemina's early goal gave Galatasaray a 1-0 victory over Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at the Ali Sami Yen Stadium. The Turkish side dominated much of the match and could have added to their lead, but Liverpool managed to limit the damage to a single goal ahead of the return leg at Anfield.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot acknowledged his team's struggles, saying: 'There were a lot of similarities between three months ago and now... we had multiple chances to score... after 10, 15 minutes you expect us to lead and then their first attack leads to a set-piece goal.' He added: 'It was difficult for us to play in [that atmosphere]. Next week we play at Anfield and our fans will be so supportive for us.'
The visitors had a goal disallowed when the ball struck Ibrahima Konaté's arm before deflecting in off Virgil van Dijk's heel. Meanwhile, Galatasaray had a goal ruled out for offside, with debate over whether Barış Alper Yılmaz was interfering with play. Liverpool were fortunate not to concede more, as Galatasaray spurned several chances, including a header from Torreira and a shot from Sara that hit the side netting.
Despite the defeat, Liverpool will feel they can overturn the deficit at Anfield. Slot remains optimistic: 'You play over two games against each other and now it's half-time... they are 1-0 up... we can do better... even with the game we played we had enough chances to score goals.' The second leg is scheduled for next week.
