Although the visitors managed to take a 2-0 lead in the first half thanks to goals from Dries Mertens and Yunus Akgun, the Latvian club showed immense character and was able to fight back to reduce the deficit to 2-1 with a Jānis Ikaunieks goal after 40 minutes. In the second half the fightback continued and a goal from Lasha Odisharia on 55 minutes proved to be enough to earn a 2-2 draw and its first points in the competition, though the tension increased every minute as the final whistle approached.
It has to go down as one of the club's best ever results and provided royal entertainment not only for the home fans but a considerable number of passionate away supporters from Turkey.
After the game coach Viktors Morozs said he was proud of his team and that they played against a great team, but showed character on what he said was "a special evening" in Rīga.
👏 Mājās pret Turcijas čempioniem Galatasaray spējam atspēlēties no divu vārtu deficīta un izcīnīt savu pirmo vēsturisko punktu UEFA Eiropas Līgā!! 😍
— FC RFS (@RFSDaily) October 3, 2024
Paldies visiem par fantastisko atbalstu! 💙🤍 pic.twitter.com/WLmYUjIIpG
RFS come back to draw from two goals down 💪#UEL | @RFSDaily pic.twitter.com/P5eEQLBeZB
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) October 3, 2024
