Champions League Matchday 5: Galatasaray vs Union Saint-Gilloise facts

A Galatasaray team buoyed by three straight UEFA Champions League wins welcome Union Saint-Gilloise, on a run of three successive defeats, to Istanbul on Matchday 5.

Last match

This is the teams' first meeting.

Galatasaray are without a win in their eight matches against Belgian teams (D4 L4), most recently drawing 0-0 away and 1-1 at home against Club Brugge in the 2019/20 group stage.

Union SG's only three matches against Turkish opposition have all come against Fenerbahçe (W1 L2), most recently a 2-1 away loss on Matchday 1 of last season's UEFA Europa League. The other two encounters came in the 2023/24 UEFA Conference League round of 16 (0-3 h, 1-0 a).

Galatasaray

This is Galatasaray's 19th participation in the Champions League proper – more than every other Turkish club combined – but only a second in six seasons. That last campaign, in 2023/24, ended in the group stage – as had Gala's previous four forays into the competition.

The Istanbul club lost 2-4 on aggregate to Young Boys in last season's qualifying play-offs, going on to finish 14th in the league phase of the Europa League before being eliminated by AZ Alkmaar in the knockout phase play-offs (1-4 a, 2-2 h).

Union SG

This is Union SG's debut in the Champions League proper. They are the eighth Belgian team to appear.

Les Unionistes featured in the Europa League group stage/league phase in each of the last three seasons. In 2024/25 they were 21st in the league phase before losing 2-3 on aggregate to Ajax in the knockout phase play-offs.

The Belgian side appointed David Hubert as coach on 13 October, Sébastien Pocognoli having departed for Monaco the previous day.

Key stats

A 3-0 victory at Ajax on Matchday 4 was Galatasaray's third successive Champions League victory – they have never won four in a row in the competition proper.

Victor Osimhen scored a hat-trick at Ajax and has found the net in eight consecutive European games, 12 goals in total.

Galatasaray have lost only two of their last 12 European group stage/league phase matches (W6 D4).

The Turkish team are unbeaten in seven home European games (W5 D2).

Having won 3-1 at PSV Eindhoven on Matchday 1, Union SG have lost their last three Champions League games, going down 1-3 at Atlético de Madrid last time out.

Each of Union SG's four matches in the league phase has produced exactly four goals.

Union SG have scored 49 goals in UEFA competition.

Union SG's Norwegian midfielder Mathias Rasmussen celebrates his 28th birthday on the day of the game.