Batrakov Brace Fires Galatasaray Past Stuttgart as Sporting Edge Shakhtar in Early Champions League Finals

Galatasaray made it back-to-back wins in the Champions League league phase with a clinical 2-0 victory over Stuttgart at Rams Park on Tuesday. The damage was done inside the opening quarter of an hour, as Aleksey Batrakov struck in the 12th minute and again just three minutes later to leave the German visitors chasing a game they never recovered. Davinson Sanchez supplied the assist for the second goal, and from there the Turkish champions managed the contest with the kind of pragmatism that has become their trademark in this competition. The win continued Galatasaray's strong run after they had beaten Lille last time out, and it lifted Batrakov to four goals in four Champions League matches this season, putting him level at the top of the competition's scoring charts at this stage. Stuttgart, who had gone close to opening the scoring themselves before falling behind, were left frustrated in Istanbul as their search for a first win of the league phase continued. In the night's other early kick-off, Sporting CP kept pace near the top of the table with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk at Stamford Bridge. After a cagey first half in which Shakhtar wasted several good chances, Issa Doumbia found the net in the second half to seal a third win from four matches for the Portuguese side and keep them firmly in the top five of the standings.