Galatasaray’s 45 million euro signing came on in the 58th minute, and Sporting scored again five minutes later
Rafael Leao spent the first hour on the bench in Lisbon, and by the time Galatasaray sent him on, Sporting were already on their way to a 3-1 win.
Sep 10, 2026
Rafael Leao’s Champions League season began in the 58th minute at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, a minute after Galatasaray had gone behind. Five minutes later they were two down. Sporting won 3-1 on Wednesday, and the Turkish champions left their opening match of the league phase with nothing but an early lead they had barely earned.
That lead arrived in the fifth minute, and Galatasaray did not really score it. Lucas Torreira struck from distance, the ball clipped Goncalo Inacio on its way through, and Sporting’s centre-back turned it past his own goalkeeper. It is the kind of start that persuades a visiting side the night will be simple.
Sporting made the fewer touches count
Galatasaray finished with 62 per cent of possession, but it barely mattered. Geny Catamo levelled in the 27th minute. Luis Suarez put them ahead from the penalty spot in the 57th. Six minutes after that, Rodrigo Zalazar hit a free-kick that ended the argument.
Torreira’s deflected effort stayed Galatasaray’s only real moment in front of goal all night. Leroy Sane made way for Leao immediately after the penalty, and the substitution did not change the direction of the match so much as confirm it.
The 45 million euro question
Galatasaray took Leao from Milan at the end of August, paying 43 million euros up front with another two in add-ons, on a four-year contract reported at around 12 million euros a season. Milan kept a fifth of any future profit on him. He had been at San Siro for seven seasons, 291 matches, 80 goals and a Scudetto, and the move was sold as the one that finally gave Galatasaray a matchwinner for European nights.
Starting a new signing on the bench is a coaching decision, not a verdict, and half an hour with your side chasing the game proves nothing about a player. Still, a club does not pay that fee for its forward to watch the first hour of the biggest fixture of its season. The league phase runs to eight matches, so there are seven left to get this right, and the format is far less forgiving of a slow start than the old six-game group ever was.
Sporting keep selling, and keep winning
Sporting sold Ousmane Diomande to Nottingham Forest in August for a fixed 34.3 million pounds, roughly 40 million euros, on a four-year deal. He had been a fixture for the club for four seasons and started in the side that reached last season’s Champions League quarter-finals, where Arsenal edged them out 1-0 over two legs. Selling him was supposed to cost Sporting something.
Instead the three players who beat Galatasaray were Catamo, Suarez and Zalazar. None of them led a transfer window. All of them scored on a night when the most expensive man on the pitch came on with the game already gone, and Sporting begin the league phase with three points and a goal difference of plus two.