Uefa Champions League
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UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - 2019/20 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi - Istanbul Tuesday 26 November 2019 Galatasaray AŞ 18.55CET (20.55 local time) Club Brugge Group A - Matchday 5 Last updated 24/11/2019 21:37CET UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE OFFICIAL SPONSORS Match background 2 Legend 5 1 Galatasaray AŞ - Club Brugge Tuesday 26 November 2019 - 18.55CET (20.55 local time) Match press kit Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi, Istanbul Match background Galatasaray's UEFA Champions League ambitions are over for another season, while Club Brugge's hopes of prolonging their campaign into the knockout rounds hang by a thread as the teams meet in Istanbul in the penultimate round of Group A games. • The sides' goalless draw in Belgium on Matchday 1 represents Galatasaray's only point in this season's competition, leaving them fourth in the section and unable to finish in the top two. • Club Brugge have two points and are in third position, although defeats by section leaders Paris Saint-Germain in their last two fixtures have left them five points adrift of second-placed Real Madrid. The Belgian side must therefore win in Turkey and hope Madrid fail to beat Paris at home to keep alive their round of 16 ambitions; Club Brugge will be confirmed in third position if they and Madrid both win on Matchday 5. Previous meetings • The sides' only fixtures before this season came in the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League first group stage when, after a goalless draw in Turkey on matchday three, Club Brugge won 3-1 at the Jan Breydelstadion thanks to goals from Sandy Martens, Gert Verheyen and Bengt Sæternes, Fábio Pinto with the sole Galatasaray response. • Those four points enabled Club Brugge to finish third in the section behind Barcelona and Lokomotiv Moskva, moving into the UEFA Cup; Galatasaray finished fourth on four points, one behind their Belgian rivals. Form guide Galatasaray • After that goalless draw at Club Brugge on Matchday 1, Gala lost 1-0 at home to both Paris and Real Madrid; a 6-0 loss in Spain last time out – their biggest defeat in the UEFA Champions League and joint heaviest in UEFA competition – extended Galatasaray's winless run in Europe to 11 fixtures (D3 L8). • Galatasaray kicked off their 2018/19 UEFA Champions League group campaign with a 3-0 home success against Lokomotiv Moskva, but picked up only one more point in their next five fixtures to finish third behind Porto and Schalke. They then lost to Benfica in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 (1-2 h, 0-0 a). • The defeat of Lokomotiv is Galatasaray's only win in their last 19 European fixtures (D6 L12). • The win against Loko ended a run of three successive home 1-1 draws in Europe for Galatasaray, who have won only two of their last 15 continental fixtures in Istanbul (D6 L7). • Gala have never beaten a Belgian club in seven previous attempts (D3 L4); they have drawn two of their three home games, most recently 1-1 against Anderlecht in the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League group stage. • Turkish champions in 2018/19 for a record 22nd time, Galatasaray qualified for a 16th appearance in the UEFA Champions League group stage – one more than all other Turkish teams combined. • Galatasaray are the only team from Turkey to have reached a European Cup semi-final, in 1989. Club Brugge • After being held 0-0 at home by Galatasaray, their third successive goalless draw in the UEFA Champions League proper, Club Brugge ended that sequence on Matchday 2 with a 2-2 draw at Real Madrid. Their six-match unbeaten run in the group stage was emphatically ended by a 5-0 loss against Paris in Bruges on Matchday 3 – the club's heaviest at home in UEFA competition. The five goals Club Brugge conceded were two more than in their previous six group matches combined – before a 1-0 loss in France last time out. • Club Brugge have therefore failed to score in three of their four Group A games, and five of their last six matches in the UEFA Champions League proper. • Last season the Blauw-Zwart finished third behind Borussia Dortmund and Atlético Madrid on six points, five ahead of Monaco. Having lost their first two fixtures, the Belgian club were unbeaten in their last four – the sole victory a 4-0 win at Monaco that represented their biggest away success in the competition. Club Brugge then moved into the UEFA Europa League, losing to Salzburg in the round of 32 (2-1 h, 0-4 a). • Despite the win at Monaco – which ended a 13-year, 11-game run without a victory (D2 L9) – Club Brugge have won only three of their last 22 fixtures in the UEFA Champions League proper (D6 L13). • This season Club Brugge got the better of Dynamo Kyiv in the third qualifying round (1-0 h, 3-3 a) before a play-off victory against Austrian side LASK (1-0 a, 2-1 h). Their results on Matchdays 1 and 2 made it ten UEFA Champions League games without defeat (W4 D6), qualifying included, before the home loss to Paris on Matchday 3. • Club Brugge may have won two of their last seven away European matches (D3 L2) but those are their only successes in the last 19 such outings (D5 L12). 2 Galatasaray AŞ - Club Brugge Tuesday 26 November 2019 - 18.55CET (20.55 local time) Match press kit Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi, Istanbul • Club Brugge's last fixtures against Turkish opposition before Matchday 1 came in the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, when they lost 5-3 on aggregate to İstanbul Başakşehir (3-3 h, 0-2 a). Their record away to Turkish clubs is W1 D1 L2, all four of those games having been played in Istanbul. • Second in Belgium behind Genk in 2018/19, this is Club Brugge's seventh UEFA Champions League group campaign, and their third in four years. They have never progressed to the knockout rounds. • Runners-up to Liverpool in 1978, Club Brugge remain the only team from Belgium to have reached a European Cup final. Links and trivia • Senegalese striker Mbaye Diagne, who moved to Galatasaray from Kasımpaşa in January and ended 2018/19 as the Süper Lig's top scorer with 30 goals, joined Club Brugge on loan from the Turkish champions this summer. • Galatasaray's Dutch import Ryan Donk played for Club Brugge from 2009 to 2013. His team-mate Christian Luyindama also has experience of Belgian football, having been a Standard Liège player for two years before joining Gala on loan in January 2019. • Has also played in Turkey: Matej Mitrović (Beşiktaş 2017–18) • International team-mates: Radamel Falcao & Éder Balanta (Colombia) Ryan Babel & Ruud Vormer (Netherlands) Latest news Galatasaray • Galatasaray's next win in UEFA club competition will be their 100th. • On Friday Galatasaray suffered a first home league defeat in 42 games, going down 1-0 against İstanbul Başakşehir; their previous defeat had come against Kasımpaşa on 6 May 2017. Gala's home league record between those two games was W34 D7. • Galatasaray have lost four of their last six matches in all competitions (W2) but have been beaten in only two of their last 11 Turkish Süper Lig games (W5 D4). The other defeat was another 1-0 reverse, at Istanbul rivals Beşiktaş on 27 October. • Galatasaray have suffered six defeats in all competitions this season, failing to score in each of them. • During the international break, Galatasaray were 4-0 winners in a friendly against second tier Ümraniyespor on 16 November, Jimmy Durmaz, Selçuk İnan, Emre Mor and Adem Büyük getting the goals. • Gala kicked off the new season with a 1-0 win against Akhisarspor in the Turkish Super Cup on 7 August, winning the trophy for a record 16th time. • Ömer Bayram was a late substitute as Turkey drew 0-0 at home to Iceland on 14 November to confirm their place at UEFA EURO 2020; he played 90 minutes in Andorra three days later (2-0). • Radamel Falcao suffered an Achilles injury against Paris on 1 October and has not played since. • Şener Özbayraklı is expected to miss the remainder of the group stage after tearing his hamstring against Rizespor on 1 November. • Florin Andone suffered a knee injury in Gala's 2-0 win at Gaziantep on 9 November and is not expected to play again this year. • Ryan Babel left the Netherlands squad having picked up a knee problem against Northern Ireland on 16 November, but played 90 minutes against İstanbul Başakşehir. • Mario Lemina damaged ligaments in his right knee on international duty with Gabon,but was fit to play 90 minutes on Friday. • Fernando Muslera was withdrawn from the Uruguay squad after the 2-1 friendly win against Hungary on 15 November due to a hip injury, and missed Gala's weekend loss. • Christian Luyindama tore the anterior cruciate ligaments in his left knee during DR Congo's 2-2 CAF African Cup of Nations qualifying match against Gambia on 18 November and could miss the rest of the season. • Younès Belhanda picked up a heel injury against Gaziantep, but came on as a late substitute on Friday. • Emre Akbaba has been left out of the UEFA Champions League squad after suffering a broken leg against Rizespor on 11 May; he is expected to be sidelined until next year, although he has returned to light training. 3 Galatasaray AŞ - Club Brugge Tuesday 26 November 2019 - 18.55CET (20.55 local time) Match press kit Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi, Istanbul Club Brugge • Club Brugge's 13-match unbeaten start to the Belgian league season (W10 D3) was ended by a 2-1 defeat at Antwerp on 10 November.