Galatasaray got the three points.
Okan Buruk still saw the player they were missing.
The Turkish champions edged Kocaelispor 1–0 at home, with Abdülkerim Bardakcı scoring the decisive goal in the 71st minute as Galatasaray stayed top of the Süper Lig.
It was enough to win.
It was not enough to end the Victor Osimhen conversation.
Speaking after the match, Buruk said Galatasaray still feel the Nigerian striker’s absence, pointing to the difference a clinical centre-forward can make inside the penalty area and the psychological effect Osimhen brings when he is on the pitch.
That was the revealing part of the night.
Galatasaray created chances.
They hit the woodwork.
They had an early goal ruled out after VAR intervention.
They controlled long periods of the game.
But the breakthrough still took until the 71st minute, when Abdülkerim finally separated the teams.
Buruk’s assessment went beyond simply saying Osimhen is important.
His point was about how the attack changes when the Super Eagles striker is present.
A penalty-box reference point changes movement.
A proven finisher changes decision-making.
And a forward defenders fear can change the psychology of a game before he even touches the ball.
That is what Galatasaray were missing against Kocaelispor.
They still found a way through.
But Buruk made clear that finding a way through and having Osimhen available are not the same thing.
Before the match, Galatasaray listed Osimhen as their leading league scorer with six goals in four appearances, underlining how central his finishing has become to their attacking output.
That level of production creates expectation even inside a strong squad.
Buruk was also careful not to suggest Galatasaray are helpless without him.
The team remain capable of winning.
That was proved again against Kocaelispor.
But when a match stays tight, when chances are wasted and when the opposition refuses to break, the value of a ruthless No. 9 becomes harder to ignore.
That is where Osimhen’s absence became part of the story.
Not because Galatasaray lost.
Because they won narrowly enough for the missing edge to remain visible.
There is a bigger warning inside the result.
Galatasaray will face tougher games than Kocaelispor.
There will be nights when Abdülkerim does not provide the decisive moment.
There will be opponents who punish wasted chances.
And there will be matches where one penalty-box action decides everything.
That is exactly the territory where Osimhen has built his value.
Buruk’s comments therefore feel less like nostalgia and more like tactical reality.
Galatasaray can survive without their Nigerian striker.
They can even win without him.
But surviving and operating at full attacking force are not the same thing.
Against Kocaelispor, they found the goal.
Against stronger opposition, they may need the striker their own coach says they still miss.
