Three minutes settled it. Galatasaray beat VfB Stuttgart 2–0 at Rams Park on Tuesday night, Alexey Batrakov scoring at 12 and 15 minutes of a first half the German side never recovered from, and the hosts saw out a second straight Champions League win with a clean sheet. It was the clubs' first-ever competitive meeting, and for half an hour Stuttgart looked like the side more likely to win it. Then Batrakov struck twice, and the game changed for good.
Stuttgart should have been in front inside 10 minutes. Jamie Leweling's attempt hit both posts before bouncing away to safety, a let-off the home crowd felt as much as heard. Galatasaray's intensity was causing problems at the other end, though, and two minutes later a cross was cut out by Jeff Chabot and the ball fell to Batrakov, who hammered it into the roof of the net from close range. Leweling had another chance from a similar position soon after and again could not hit the target. Galatasaray made him pay for both misses.
Stuttgart had been unsettled from the start. Atakan Karazor was booked inside two minutes for a heavy challenge on Mario Lemina and limped off injured at 18 minutes, replaced by Yannik Spalt — the visitors' captain gone before the game had found any rhythm, in a side already missing Stiller and Vagnoman and unchanged from its weekend win over Bayer Leverkusen. Galatasaray, with Rafael Leão and İlkay Gündoğan held back on the bench, needed neither.
The second goal, at 15 minutes, was the cleaner of the two. Davinson Sánchez played Batrakov into space and the Russian ran on and finished between goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow's legs. Two shots, two goals, and a 21-year-old with the match in his hands before it was a quarter old. The full match archive is in the Game Center.
Batrakov had a hat-trick chance midway through the half, with Okan Buruk's side well on top, but this time Bredlow was equal to it. The temperature rose instead. With around seven minutes left in the half, Chris Führich tussled with Barış Alper Yılmaz on a Galatasaray counter and shoved him; Yılmaz swung Führich to the ground, both benches piled in, and when referee Chris Kavanagh had separated it all he booked Yılmaz and Deniz Undav. Führich came close to a goal back before the interval, but Stuttgart went in 2–0 down and frustrated — a side that had arrived unbeaten in this competition, on seven points from three games, with key men Angelo Stiller and Josha Vagnoman missing.
The second half ran at the same pace. Victor Osimhen struck straight at Bredlow. Führich hammered past the post, and Osimhen did the same at the other end. Stuttgart's first shot on target did not arrive until the 58th minute, Uğurcan Çakır comfortably collecting Bilal El Khannouss's low effort — and when the visitors did finally work the goalkeeper, Çakır stood up: two strong hands to an Undav shot from outside the area, then the late stops that kept the clean sheet. Stuttgart thought they had halved the deficit when Undav's effort cannoned back off the crossbar and Führich curled the loose ball into the bottom corner, but Undav had been offside when he received the ball and the goal was disallowed. Substitute Dženan Pejčinović was denied by Çakır in the closing stages, and that was Stuttgart's last real moment.
Four in four, and level at the top
Batrakov's two goals came from his first two shots of the match. He finished the night with three shots, all three on target, in 77 minutes before Leroy Sané replaced him — Flashscore's man of the match, and now the owner of four goals in four Champions League games, level at the top of the competition's scoring charts. Galatasaray came into the night on four straight wins in all competitions, including the 4–2 win at Lille that ended a six-match winless run in this tournament, and they have now lost just one of their past seven at Rams Park. The win moves them to six points and into the league phase's top 24. For Stuttgart, a first defeat of the campaign — and a small piece of history with it: they are the first German side to lose away at Galatasaray since 1992. Galatasaray's European campaign continues at home to Aston Villa on November 24; on this evidence, Rams Park will not be a trip Villa look forward to. More football coverage is on the Previously Sports front.
By the Numbers
| Goals | Alexey Batrakov 12' — hammered into the roof of the net after Chabot's clearance fell to him; Batrakov 15' — ran onto Davinson Sánchez's through ball and finished between Fabian Bredlow's legs |
|---|---|
| The near-miss | Jamie Leweling hit both posts inside the first 10 minutes with the game goalless |
| The flashpoint | 38' — Yılmaz threw Führich to the ground on the touchline, both benches piled in; Yılmaz and Undav booked |
| Disallowed | Führich's curled finish wiped off in the second half — Undav offside in the build-up after hitting the crossbar |
| The occasion | First-ever competitive meeting between the clubs · Attendance 45,162 · Referee Chris Kavanagh · Full time 90+5' |
Sources · 5 sources
- Sportradar — Galatasaray Istanbul vs VfB Stuttgart, UEFA Champions League 26/27 Matchday 4 — the 2–0 full-time record, scorers and times, Rams Park.
- Flashscore — "Batrakov puts Stuttgart to the sword as Galatasaray extend winning run" — the match narrative: the Leweling double-post miss, both goals, the hat-trick chance, the second-half chances and the disallowed goal; Batrakov man of the match; four goals in four games.
- Bundesliga.com — Galatasaray vs VfB Stuttgart Champions League liveticker — the first-half flashpoint, the disallowed Führich goal, team news and Stuttgart's unbeaten start.
- TNT Sports — the touchline confrontation report and the official match highlights (TNT Sports Football).
- ESPN — match summary for event 401915311 — attendance 45,162.
