Galatasaray settles for a draw in Latvia: They had led 2-0

In the second week of the UEFA Europa League, Galatasaray faced Latvian side RFS away from home.

Galatasaray found the opening goal in the 12th minute of the match played at Daugava Stadium. Dries Mertens scored to put his team 1-0 ahead, connecting with a ball headed down by Mauro Icardi.

The Yellow-Reds doubled their lead in the 38th minute. Yunus Akgün, who made a run behind the defense following a brilliant pass from Davinson Sanchez, made it 2-0.

RFS's response to this goal was swift. In the 40th minute, goalkeeper Günay Güvenç denied Janis Ikaunieks' initial shot, but Ikaunieks struck the rebound to cut the deficit to one.

Galatasaray finished the first half of the match leading 2-1.

The hosts leveled the match in the 54th minute with a goal from Lasha Odisharia, bringing the score to 2-2.

Although Galatasaray pushed for a winning goal, no further goals were scored, and the match ended in a 2-2 draw.

With this result, Galatasaray moved to 4 points, while RFS, the team with the lowest budget in the UEFA Europa League, earned their first point in the competition.

In the third week of the UEFA Europa League, Galatasaray will face Swedish side Elfsborg at home, while RFS will play away against Eintracht Frankfurt.

WINLESS IN LAST 5 AWAY MATCHES IN EUROPE

The Yellow-Reds have failed to win their last 5 away matches in European competitions.

After defeating Manchester United 3-2 in their first away match of the UEFA Champions League Group A last season, Galatasaray subsequently lost 2-1 to Bayern Munich and 1-0 to Copenhagen on the road.

Finishing their group in third place and continuing in the UEFA Europa League knockout round play-offs, Galatasaray was eliminated from the tournament after losing 4-1 away to Czech side Sparta Prague, despite winning 3-2 at home.

Galatasaray suffered their fourth consecutive away defeat this season in the UEFA Champions League play-off round against Swiss side Young Boys with a score of 3-2. Finally, the Yellow-Reds could not end their away win drought after drawing 2-2 with RFS.

MERTENS REACHES 4 GOALS

Galatasaray's Belgian star Dries Mertens has scored his 4th goal in official matches this season.

The 37-year-old star player, who has scored 3 goals in 7 matches in the Süper Lig this season, found the net for the first time in his second UEFA Europa League match.

Mertens, who has played in 2 UEFA Champions League qualifying matches and 1 Turkcell Super Cup match, has made his 12th official appearance in total.

YUNUS AKGÜN CONTINUES TO SCORE

Galatasaray's academy product and winger Yunus Akgün has reached 3 goals in official matches.

Yunus, who has become a regular in the starting eleven for the Yellow-Reds this season, made his 10th official appearance. The 24-year-old footballer, who has scored once in 7 Süper Lig matches, also celebrated a goal in the RFS match following his goal against PAOK in the UEFA Europa League.