Astana have gad the better of the chances in the first half in their Champions League clash with Galatasaray but the two sides remain level in Turkey.
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Galatasaray dominated the opening exchanges without being able to create a clear-cut opportunity on goal, with Burak Yilmaz's weak header their best opening in the first 15 minutes.
However, Astana almost took a shock lead when Patrick Twumasi cut inside onto his left foot before striking the post with Fernando Muslera beaten.
Two minutes later, Serikzhan Muzhikov forced Muslera into action as Astana built up a head of steam, but Lukas Podolski came within inches of giving the home side the lead when his left-footed effort went just past the post.
The game was developing into an end-to-end contest, with Yasin Oztekin firing over from close range for Galatasaray before Marin Anicic failed to hit the target with his back to goal at the other end.
As the first half drew to a close, it was Astana who looked the more likely to find an opening goal, with Twumasi shooting across goal and Nemanja Maksimovic heading narrowly off target, but the home side survived to reach the break on level terms.
Darren Plant
