Galatasaray Istanbul almost didn’t get beyond a draw at Molde FK despite their greater playing class and visual superiority, but then Icardi led the Turks to a late winner.
In Istanbul, the longing for European football festivals is great. This is one of the reasons why Galatasaray dug deep into their pockets this summer and signed Icardi on a permanent basis. The Argentinian was responsible for the most beautiful goal of the evening in the play-off first leg at Molde FK.
In the 29th minute, he finished off a ball hit by Akgün at the right five-corner with a beautiful volley into the far corner. It was his 200th goal at club level (124 for Inter Milan, 38 for Paris St. Germain, 27 for Galatasaray, 11 for Sampdoria Genoa).
The Norwegians had taken the lead after Ellingsen’s header from a corner in the 8th minute, but the centre-back later headed Sergio Oliveira’s direct free-kick into his own net from inside the wall in the 25th minute.
Molde counters after the break
The Lions from the Bosporus were the better team, they had more of the game and more chances, but were not always consistent in their finishing. The punishment for this came after the break, when Knudtzon escaped down the right flank and found Haugen with a long cross. Haugen was grateful and scored the much-celebrated 2:2 (56.).
The Norwegian “no names” proved to be a really tough nut to crack, defensively Molde stood firm and repeatedly radiated danger through counter-attacks. Istanbul coach Okan Buruk could not be satisfied with the performance of his team, which often allowed too much space in the centre and did not always have the right ideas when playing forward.
Demirbay comes on, another joker decides
Like Tete, Demirbay, signed from Leverkusen, only came on as a substitute and was unable to give the Turks the victory they so desperately wanted. But a Norwegian substitute did: After Icardi had passed the poorly positioned Björnback after a long ball and crossed to Midtsjö, the latter only had to push into the empty goal (90.+3).
With a 3:2 win in their luggage, the Turks now travel home, where they can and want to make the group stage in a week’s time. Kick-off is next Tuesday at Rams Park at 9pm.
