Aleksey Batrakov scored twice in the opening 15 minutes as Galatasaray defeated Stuttgart 2–0 in Istanbul on November 3. The home victory took the Turkish club to six points after four matches in the Champions League league phase.
Batrakov struck first in the 12th minute after Stuttgart failed to clear a delivery from Roland Sallai. Three minutes later, he ran onto a pass from Davinson Sanchez and finished again, establishing the advantage that Galatasaray carried to the final whistle.
According to Galatasaray’s match report, Batrakov became the club’s first player to score twice within the opening 15 minutes of a Champions League match. He was also named player of the match.
Goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir helped preserve the lead with important saves after the break. Stuttgart continued to create chances but could not produce a valid goal. Anadolu’s independent report confirmed the two early strikes and Cakir’s contribution, including interventions against Deniz Undav and Chris Fuhrich during the second half.
Archive photo (July 2019): Galatasaray’s stadium in Istanbul, photographed under its former name. Photo: “Türk Telekom Stadium” by A.jobs02, CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized; display may be cropped. This image is not from the November 2026 event.
