Galatasaray’s 33-game unbeaten run at home came to an abrupt end as Royale Union Saint-Gilloise claimed a deserved 1–0 victory at Rams Park in the UEFA Champions League (UCL), in a result that defied pre-match predictions. Softfootball had tipped the Turkish side to win 3–1 and maintain their three-game winning streak in the UCL, but it was not meant to be as the visitors held their own and arguably dominated the contest.
The contrasting form of the two sides ahead of the match suggested an easy evening for the hosts. Galatasaray had been on a high, while Union were coming off a 3–1 defeat to Atlético Madrid. Yet it was the Belgians who looked more dangerous in the opening 45 minutes. Their first notable chance arrived just before the half-hour mark when a cross took a deflection into the path of Promise David, who should have done better as he directed his close-range effort just wide of the right post.
The Lions’ three consecutive UCL wins before this clash had equaled their total from the previous 33 main-draw matches, and although Galatasaray threatened with a Gabriel Sara strike that rattled the right post, Union’s Ross Sykes then hit the crossbar from a corner, denying them a halftime lead.
Galatasaray, knowing they needed to step up in the second half, were caught cold 12 minutes after the restart. Union’s Raul Florucz played a clever reverse pass to Adem Zorgane, whose cross from the byline found Promise David. The Canadian striker made no mistake from close range, giving the visitors the lead and putting Galatasaray under significant pressure.
The Lions continued to frustrate the home side in the closing stages, with Sara’s header saved at the near post by Kjell Scherpen. A subsequent block on the line fell to Davinson Sánchez, but his effort sailed over the bar, summing up a disappointing evening for Galatasaray. Adding to their woes, second-half substitute Arda Ünyay was shown a second yellow card late on.
After the game, Royal Union via its official X handle, posted an exclusive video showing the reactions of Midfielder Adem Zorgane picking up his man of the match award after putting up a superb performance. They posted:
For Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, the result was a massive confidence boost. Having come into the match on the back of a loss, they not only held their own but arguably outperformed the Turkish giants, keeping their hopes of a play-off place alive with three games remaining in the league phase.
