AMSTERDAM (AP) – Victor Osimhen has moved to the top of the Champions League scoring list with a hat trick.
The Nigerian striker scored all three goals in Galatasaray’s 3-0 win against Ajax in Amsterdam on Wednesday.
Osimhen has scored six goals in Europe’s elite club competition this season. That’s one more than Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.
The Istanbul club reportedly signed Osimhen from Napoli on a permanent contract in the summer for 75 million euros (approximately $86 million), the highest transfer fee in Turkish league history.
The reason is obvious.
The 26-year-old striker took less than 20 minutes to score his first hat-trick of the competition.
He scored the opening goal in the 59th minute with a header off Leroy Sane’s cross. In the 66th and 78th minutes, his perfect spot-kicks denied Ajax goalkeeper Remko Pasveer any chances.
“We have goals. We know what we want and how big of a performance we need in the Champions League,” Osimhen told Galatasaray TV. “We want to be on par with the elite. It’s not easy, but we’ll take it step by step. We have the individual qualities to cause damage to any team.”
In the previous Champions League match of the season, he scored the only goal (also a penalty) in a 1–0 win against Liverpool and added two more goals to help Galatasaray beat Bodø/Glimt 3–1. Galatasaray has won three games in a row and is in 9th place with 9 points halfway through the league.
Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahly were reportedly interested in Osimhen before he moved from Napoli to Galatasaray on a loan deal in September 2024. He then helped the club win the league and cup in his first season in Türkiye. That season, he scored 26 goals in league games and 5 points in cup games.
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