Nigerian stars Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen were influential as Atlético Madrid and Galatasaray secured crucial wins in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 ties on Tuesday night.
While Lookman featured prominently in Atlético’s commanding victory over Tottenham Hotspur, Osimhen provided the assist that helped Galatasaray edge Liverpool 1-0 in Istanbul.
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At the Wanda Metropolitano, Ademola Lookman and his Atlético Madrid teammates delivered a ruthless early display to overpower Tottenham Hotspur 5-2.
Atlético stunned the visitors with three goals inside the opening 15 minutes, taking full advantage of costly mistakes from Tottenham’s debutant goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky.
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Marcos Llorente opened the scoring in the sixth minute after a slip from the young goalkeeper, before Antoine Griezmann doubled the advantage moments later. Another error from Kinsky allowed Julián Álvarez to slot into an empty net for Atlético’s third.
Robin Le Normand added a fourth shortly after Tottenham manager Igor Tudor replaced Kinsky with first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, compounding a disastrous night for the Premier League side.
Tottenham managed to respond with two goals later in the contest, but Atlético’s dominant performance leaves them firmly in control ahead of the second leg in London.
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Elsewhere, Victor Osimhen played a decisive role as Galatasaray defeated Liverpool 1-0 in Istanbul.
The Turkish champions struck early through Mario Lemina, who headed home in the seventh minute after connecting with Osimhen’s initial header to give Galatasaray the advantage.
Osimhen also thought he had doubled the lead in the second half, but his effort was ruled out for offside. Liverpool had a goal disallowed as well, with VAR ruling out Ibrahima Konaté’s strike for handball.
The narrow victory continues Galatasaray’s impressive European run this season after they previously eliminated Juventus in a dramatic playoff tie.
Liverpool will now need to overturn the deficit when both sides meet again at Anfield next week.
In other fixtures, Bayern Munich produced one of the most dominant performances of the round, thrashing Atalanta 6-1 away from home.
Michael Olise scored twice for Bayern, while Serge Gnabry, Nicolas Jackson, Josip Stanišić and Jamal Musiala were also on target as the German champions closed in on a quarter-final berth despite leaving star striker Harry Kane on the bench.
READ ALSO: UCL: Galatasaray Coach seeks UEFA rule change as Osimhen risks ban vs Liverpool
Meanwhile, FC Barcelona needed a dramatic stoppage-time penalty from teenage sensation Lamine Yamal to rescue a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United.
Harvey Barnes had put Newcastle ahead late in the match before Yamal converted from the spot in the 96th minute to ensure the tie remains evenly balanced heading into the return leg.
The decisive second-leg matches will be played next week as Europe’s top clubs battle for places in the Champions League quarter-finals.
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