Galatasaray's seven attackers: 4 goals in 10 games, Sané and Leão still on 0

By the Data Desk · Published 20 OCT 06:30 · Updated 21 OCT 05:35

First reported by Fotomaç, citing Takvim · 20 OCT 04:50

İlkay Gündoğan, Alexey Batrakov, Rafael Leão, Barış Alper Yılmaz, Yunus Akgün, Leroy Sané and Deniz Gül: seven Galatasaray attackers, 4 of the club's 19 goals in 10 games, and Sané and Leão still on 0. Fotomaç ran the count on Tuesday morning, citing Takvim, a day before Galatasaray go to Lille with no Champions League points.

• Our check of every ESPN match summary: Batrakov, Barış Alper and Yunus Akgün have one goal each, and Deniz Gül's winner in Ankara is his on the Turkish federation's record. ESPN lists it as an own goal by goalkeeper İrfan Can Eğribayat, which would make the count 3.
• Victor Osimhen scored 6 of the 19 in his first four games, all before his adductor injury on 4 September. Centre-backs Abdülkerim Bardakçı (2) and Davinson Sánchez (1) have three between them.
• Leão's MRI on Monday showed a mild-to-moderate strain of the groin muscle, the club said. Treatment has started, there is no timescale, and Fotomaç says he will miss Lille.

Sané has played all 10 games, five of them as a starter, with no goal and no assist on ESPN's record. Leão arrived from Milan at the end of August and has 7 appearances, not the 10 Fotomaç lists, with one assist: the pass for Batrakov's goal against Barcelona. Gündoğan has played three times. Batrakov has the best return of the seven, 1 goal and 2 assists in 8 games, and his finish against Barcelona is the only goal Galatasaray have scored themselves in Europe; the other was Gonçalo Inácio's own goal in Lisbon.

The dates tell the rest. Galatasaray scored 12 goals in their first four league games, and Osimhen had six of them before he went off at Başakşehir on 4 September. In the six games since, they have scored 7, and only three of those came from the seven attackers. Osimhen has been back since 9 October and has not scored in three appearances; across the season, Gabriel Sara has 2 and Lucas Torreira, Mario Lemina and Roland Sallai one each.

In Istanbul the numbers have become a debate about names. Fotomaç calls Sané "eleştiri oklarının hedefindeki isim", the man in the line of fire, this season. Even the one goal that went the attackers' way on Saturday was close: Deniz Gül's shot hit a defender and the goalkeeper could not hold it, Fotospor reported, before the federation's site gave the goal to the 22-year-old striker.

Leão was hurt when his foot slipped on the Eryaman pitch in the 77th minute, 16 minutes after he came on. Galatasaray's statement on Monday said the MRI and further tests found a mild-to-moderate strain in the groin muscle, that treatment had begun and that he will be checked daily. What happens next: Lille v Galatasaray kicks off at 16:45 UTC on Wednesday 21 October at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, and Fenerbahçe visit RAMS Park on Monday 26 October.