Galatasaray bids farewell to Europe after draw with AZ Alkmaar: A 4-goal encounter

In the second leg of the UEFA Europa League knockout round play-offs, Galatasaray drew 2-2 at home against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, bidding farewell to European competition after losing the first leg 4-1.

AZ Alkmaar took the lead in the 43rd minute of the match played at Rams Park. A shot by Seiya Maikuma deflected off Gabriel Sara and into the net, bringing the score to 1-0.

The first half of the match ended with the Dutch side leading 1-0.

Denso Kasius found the ball after the Galatasaray defense failed to clear it and extended the lead to two in the 55th minute: 2-0.

Galatasaray's response to this goal was swift. In the 56th minute, Victor Osimhen struck a powerful shot from a long pass by Torreira, scoring to narrow the gap to one.

Pressing for an equalizer, the Yellow-Reds leveled the match in the 70th minute. Roland Sallai met a low cross from Barış Alper Yılmaz in the penalty area and struck the ball first-time to restore parity.

There were no further goals in the remainder of the match, and it ended in a 2-2 draw.

Having lost to AZ Alkmaar with a 6-3 aggregate score over the two legs, Galatasaray has ended its European journey.

AZ Alkmaar, which succeeded in advancing to the Round of 16, will face either Manchester United or Tottenham in the next round.