Turkish defender named Man of Match in Champions League

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish defender Ozan Kabak was voted Man of the Match on Wednesday after a superb performance in Tuesday's Champions League game against Leipzig.

Kabak got the most votes in Liverpool's official Man of the Match poll on Twitter.

The 20-year-old got 56%, with Egyptian star Mohamed Salah coming second with 22%, and English midfielder Curtis Jones picking up nearly 16%.

"It was so special for me because this was my first clean sheet and my first win in this jersey," Ozan told Liverpoolfc.com.

"After such a long time with Schalke, he was new to that and I think his attitude was good," Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told a post-game press conference. “Very happy with his performance.”

Kabak also became the first Turkish player to appear for an English club in the Champions League.

Meanwhile, Liverpool secured a 2-0 win over Germany's RB Leipzig in the first leg held in Hungary’s capital Budapest.

Second-half goals from Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane at Puskas Arena had an advantage for the Reds in their last-16 tie with the Bundesliga club.

Kabak started his career at Istanbul side Galatasaray before joining Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart in January 2019.

He moved to German side Schalke 04 in June 2019 and scored three goals in 42 games.

On Feb. 2, Kabak completed his loan move to Liverpool from Schalke 04.

He became the second Turkish player to make an appearance for Liverpool following Nuri Sahin, who played for the Reds on loan from Real Madrid in the first half of the 2012-2013 season.

The 20-year-old has so far played in two games for the Reds.