In the large square at Rams Park, Istanbul’s Galatasaray stadium, there are men with brushes and men with drums. The men with the brushes paint the colors of their football club on the faces of Galatasaray fans. The men with the drums get all the other fans in the mood for what awaits them in the stadium in the next few hours. This is impressive. And if you’ve never been to this stadium, but you believe the rumors that people tell you about the decibel levels there, then at this moment in the queue at the stadium gate you’re already wondering how the little child was sitting on his shoulders without earmuffs Father’s sitting, which should endure straight away.
Coach Thomas Tuchel has known since October 2018 that the rumors are true. He played there with Paris Saint-Germain against Galatasaray. And even though his team then won 1-0, he recalled on Monday evening, when he spoke in Istanbul about FC Bayern Munich’s upcoming game in the Champions League, that it would be “extremely emotional, extremely loud” – and that His players would certainly “feel this firsthand”. He means the power of the stadium.
On Tuesday evening you can feel this in the first seconds of the game. The referee starts the game with his whistle, the 50,000 people in the stadium start it with screams. That’s impressive again. But when the referee ended this game with a whistle more than 90 minutes later, the people were no longer screaming. FC Bayern Munich won 3-1 against Galatasaray – and those who are there must remember: On this evening it is not the power of the stadium that makes the difference, but the power of the moment.
In Istanbul, Tuchel and his team won again because they always mastered the moments in which the game could change. Munich had their first moment of their own in the eighth minute. Winger Leroy Sané, who is playing sensationally this season, passes the ball through the penalty area where Galatasaray full-back Kazımcan Karataş tries to clear it with a tackle but cannot clear it. Kingsley Coman, Bayern’s other winger, only has to shoot the ball past keeper Fernando Muslera, which he does effortlessly. And as Coman celebrates with his teammates, you can hear the FC Bayern fans in the press box for the first time that evening.
Ulreich also has his moments
The moments that Galatasaray have in the first minutes then belong to Kerem Aktürkoğlu, the striker. In the seventh minute he shoots into the arms of Sven Ulreich, the goalkeeper who will probably be in the starting line-up for the last time on Tuesday due to Manuel Neuer’s looming return. In the ninth minute, Aktürkoğlu – with a spectacular side kick – shoots harder and more precisely, but Ulreich saves spectacularly. In the eleventh minute, Aktürkoğlu shoots the ball, which Ulreich only lets rebound this time, over the empty goal. And so the German goalkeeper also has his moments.
But the stadium feels that Galatasaray can keep up with the big favorites. And when the fans see that their team can’t get the ball in this phase, they whistle and improve even when you think they can’t improve any more. But they can do that. And in the 28th minute they are particularly loud. Then the Argentine striker Mauro Icardi falls in the penalty area. He is the star of the team – and everywhere in the city on Monday. He is ailing and his commitment is very questionable. But when word gets around on the subway that he’s in the starting lineup, some fans fight each other. Now Icardi is in the penalty area because Joshua Kimmich is said to have hit him. The referee sees it that way too. His decision: penalty. And the striker does it himself – like a star: he lobs the ball into the middle. 1:1.
Christopher Meltzer and Michael Wittershagen Published/Updated: Recommendations: 11 A comment from Anno Hecker Published/Updated: Recommendations: 15 Published/Updated:
In the second half you can still hear a lot, but see less. For FC Bayern, winger Coman plays free to winger Sané, who shoots the ball over the goal. It is then the men in the middle who decide the game: Jamal Musiala and Harry Kane. In the 73rd minute, Musiala passes to Kane – 1:2. In the 77th minute, Kane passes to Musiala – 1:3. And so you can see again this evening in Istanbul: Even in small games, they create big moments.
