By Olaitan Ibrahim
Nigerian international Victor Osimhen found the net on Thursday, but his effort was not enough to salvage Galatasaray’s Europa League campaign as they bowed out following a 2-2 draw with AZ Alkmaar, sealing a 6-3 aggregate defeat.
The Turkish giants faced an uphill battle after suffering a heavy 4-1 loss in the first leg in the Netherlands.
Despite showing glimpses of fight at home, they were unable to overturn the deficit.
AZ Alkmaar set the tone early, forcing Galatasaray goalkeeper Gunay Guvenc into action in the sixth minute when he denied Sven Mijnans.
The visitors continued to threaten, with Ernest Poku and Kristijan Belic coming close but failing to convert their chances.
Galatasaray had their moments, with Roland Sallai testing Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro in the 16th minute, but the AZ Alkmaar shot-stopper was equal to the task.
The home side had a penalty shout in the 27th minute when Osimhen went down in the box under a challenge, but the referee waved play on.
The visitors struck first in the 42nd minute when Seiya Maikuma found himself in a promising position inside the box and saw his shot deflect past Guvenc for the opening goal.
AZ Alkmaar doubled their lead early in the second half, with Denso Kasius producing a brilliant first-time strike from outside the box in the 55th minute.
Galatasaray responded immediately, as Osimhen latched onto a pass from Lucas Torreira and curled a fine effort into the top right corner, reducing the deficit to 1-2 in the 56th minute.
The hosts found an equaliser in the 70th minute through Roland Sallai, who finished off a well-worked move with Baris Alper Yilmaz, but their hopes of a miraculous comeback were short-lived.
AZ Alkmaar nearly grabbed a late winner when Peer Koopmeiners’ long-range effort rattled the crossbar in stoppage time, while Ibrahim Sadiq failed to capitalise on the rebound.
Despite a spirited performance, Galatasaray’s European journey came to an end as AZ Alkmaar progressed to the next round with a convincing aggregate victory.