Victor Osimhen scored twice to inflict a first Europa League defeat on 10-player Tottenham and earn a 3-2 victory for wasteful Galatasaray.
Spurs conceded 28 shots and had just five of their own yet escaped from Istanbul with a respectable scoreline despite having Will Lankshear sent off in the second half.
Galatasaray stormed into a sixth-minute lead when Yunus Akgun’s stunning volley from the edge of the box crashed into the top-right corner but Spurs responded through 19-year-old striker Lankshear, who tapped in his first goal for the club after Brennan Johnson had squared a cross.
However, the visitors were vulnerable at the back throughout with Osimhen forcing a good save from Forster and then having a goal ruled out for offside before restoring his side’s lead with a clever toe-poke after Radu Dragusin gave the ball away.
Forster saved again from Osimhen but just 60 seconds later the striker netted his second of the first half with a cushioned volley from Dries Mertens’ perfect cross.
Ange Postecoglou brought on Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur for Brennan Johnson and Heung-Min Son at half-time – but Spurs got worse. Abdulkerim Bardakci had a goalbound shot blocked after Forster dropped an easy cross before Akgun’s volley was deflected inches wide and Osimhen missed two chances.
Lankshear then picked up his second yellow card, just seven minutes after his first, for a silly tackle on the halfway line and then Forster made two more saves.
Solanke, though, cleverly flicked Pedro Porro’s low pullback into the net against the run of play to put Spurs within one goal and Kulusevski could have equalised in injury-time when his long-range shot rolled wide with goalkeeper Fernando Muslera way out of his goal.
More to follow…
