Galatasaray 0-1 Real Madrid - 3 Reasons why Los Blancos returned to winning ways in Europe | Champions League 2019/20
Real Madrid travelled to Turkey to take on Galatasaray, as they looked to get their Champions League campaign back on track. The Los Blancos have been underwhelming in Europe this season and went into the game having tallied one point from two games.
In a tightly-contested affair that could have panned out either way, the away side registered a hard-fought 1-0 victory thanks to a first-half strike from Toni Kroos.
Zinedine Zidane's side took the lead against the run of play after Eden Hazard unselfishly teed up Toni Kroos in the first-half. The Belgian international was clean through on goal but opted to square the ball to Kroos, whose shot landed up in the back of the net via a deflection.
Galatasaray were left to rue their missed opportunities and their chances of advancing to the knockout stages took a massive blow.
The home side had plenty of chances to take the lead in the first-half but a combination of poor finishing and wonderful goalkeeping from Thibaut Courtois ensured that they failed to find the back of the net.
Courtois was called into action multiple times and he delivered the goods in stunning style. The Belgian international has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks for his performances between the sticks but he made a series of impressive saves to prevent his side from going behind.
As Real Madrid registered their first Champions League victory of the season, let's look at three reasons why they returned to winning ways in Europe.
#1 Galatasaray were wasteful in front of goal
Despite ending up on the wrong end of the result, Galatasaray created a handful of goalscoring opportunities but were left to rue their missed chances.
Real Madrid took the lead against the run of play after the home side had been thwarted on the other end by Thibaut Courtois.
The Belgian international looked to be back to his best as he produced a series of stunning saves, particularly in the first half but the Turkish side will feel hard done by the result after they failed to make their chances count.
Zinedine Zidane's side registered their first Champions League victory of the season but on another day, it could have been a different story as the home side weren't clinical enough in front of goal.