Osimhen silences the Tupras as Galatasaray crush Besiktas's 18-game unbeaten run - And Ndidi's heart

Forget the title. Forget the tactics. Tonight in Istanbul, the only thing that mattered was this: Victor Osimhen versus Wilfred Ndidi. 

Nigeria's star striker against his captain. The irresistible force against the immovable object. And in the end, it took 39 minutes for the striker to land the only punch that counted.

Galatasaray, already sitting pretty at the summit of the Super Lig, made the short trip across Istanbul to the Tupras Stadium and did what champions do, they nicked it, they held it, and they drove a dagger through Besiktas's heart. 

An 18-match unbeaten run, months in the making, ended not with a bang but with one predatory instinct from the most dangerous Nigerian on the planet right now.

Osimhen, in the 39th minute, one in-Sane cross, one reaction, one finish, one enormous statement. It really was that simple and that brutal.

From there, Galatasaray dug in. Leroy Sane was shown red after the hour mark, reducing the leaders to ten men and suddenly the Tupras were roaring, Besiktas smelling blood.

That's when Ndidi decided to remind everyone exactly why he wears the captain's armband for the Super Eagles.

The defensive midfielder was immense. Absolutely immense as Besiktas poured forward in search of an equaliser.

Two tackles. Four clearances. An 85% pass completion rate in a match that felt like a street fight, though his shooting could have been better in the match.

But late on, Ndidi unleashed a thunderbolt from range that had Ugurcan Cakır at full stretch, fingertips pushing it wide. So close, but far away

But close doesn't win derbies. Goals do. And tonight, only one Nigerian had one of those.

The result hammers the title race wide open , well, it actually shuts it down. Galatasaray now sit seven points clear at the top of the Süper Lig, with Fenerbahçe not in action until tomorrow.

For Besiktas, fourth place feels a little lonelier tonight, their Champions League ambitions taking a serious dent. Eighteen games unbeaten, and it took a moment of Osimhen magic to end it.

Victor Osimhen and Galatasaray now turn their attention to the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 and a first-leg clash at Anfield against Liverpool. If he's this sharp in Istanbul on a Saturday night, God help whoever's on the back post at Anfield.