Galatasaray Draws with Corum FK: Osimhen's Brace Saves Champions

Victor Osimhen walked off with the match ball under his arm and frustration written all over his face. Two goals, the first of the new Turkish Super League season and a late rescue act, still weren’t enough to spare Galatasaray an uncomfortable reminder that title defences rarely start on cruise control.

The champions were held 2-2 in Istanbul by newly promoted Corum FK, who arrived for their top-flight debut, refused to be overawed and very nearly left with one of the shocks of the campaign’s opening weekend.

Osimhen strikes first, then watches the script flip

For 53 minutes, it looked like a routine afternoon. Galatasaray had the ball, the noise, the expectation. When Osimhen finally broke the deadlock, it felt like the inevitable had simply been delayed.

The Nigerian timed his moment, netting the league’s first goal of 2026/27 after a disallowed effort from Yunus Akgun in the first half had already teased the home crowd. Akgun’s strike was correctly ruled out for offside; Osimhen’s finish carried no such caveat. The champions were in front, the season seemingly settling into a familiar pattern.

Then Corum FK tore it up.

Alexandros Kyziridis struck, Jesus Ramirez followed in quick succession, and suddenly the newly promoted side were leading the title holders in their own stadium. The mood inside flipped from celebratory to stunned. Corum didn’t just cling on and hope. They played with conviction, as if they belonged at this level from the first whistle.

For a spell, they looked capable of walking away with all three points. TV100’s assessment that they seemed ready to raid the champions’ home for a famous win didn’t feel exaggerated. Galatasaray, usually so dominant in front of their own fans, were chasing the game on opening night.

Buruk: “We’re disappointed… we’re used to winning”

Okan Buruk knew what the draw meant. This was not the launch he had envisioned for a side that has built its recent identity on imposing itself, especially at home.

“We're not 100% ready. No team is 100% ready, and neither are we,” he told GS TV after the game, pointing to the awkward rhythm of a calendar reshaped by the World Cup and the ongoing preparation period for his squad.

He didn’t hide from the sense of let-down.

“We're disappointed, of course we are. We're not used to this kind of thing. We're used to winning, especially at home. We've always played that dominant game. Maybe there have been matches where we played worse and still won. We will do better, we will do it in time.”

The words carried both irritation and reassurance. Buruk knows the standards at Galatasaray. A home draw against a debutant club is not part of the script for champions, regardless of context.

Osimhen underlines his status

If there was a silver lining for Galatasaray, it wore the No. 9 shirt. Osimhen’s brace underlined exactly why so much of their attacking burden will rest on his shoulders this season.

His first goal opened the campaign. His second, deep into the closing stages, salvaged a point that had started to look beyond them. Corum were on the verge of a statement win; Osimhen simply refused to let it happen.

It didn’t feel like a celebration when the ball hit the net. It felt like relief. The champions had been dragged back from the brink on day one, their star striker already carrying the weight of expectation that will follow him all season.

Corum’s courage, Galatasaray’s warning shot

Corum FK may have left with only a point, but they departed with something more valuable than that: belief. On their first night in the Super League, they fought back from a goal down, led at the home of the defending champions and forced Galatasaray into desperation mode.

They couldn’t quite hold on, yet their performance will echo around the division. Newly promoted in name only, they showed they can live with the league’s elite.

For Galatasaray, the draw is both a stumble and a warning. The margin for error in a title defence is thin, and the rest of the league will have watched Corum’s fearlessness with interest.

Next comes Erzurumspor, another newly promoted side, this time away from home. It will be the champions’ first road test of the campaign, and already it carries a sharper edge than Buruk would have liked.

If this is how the season starts, how ruthless will Galatasaray need to be to make sure it doesn’t end the same way?