Photographing the official team sheet moment — eleven players lined up before kick-off — is one of the most deceptively simple assignments in football photography. The light is rarely ideal, the window is tight, and the pressure to deliver a clean, sharp frame of every face is absolute. This image of Liverpool’s starting XI was made at Rams Park ahead of the UEFA Champions League fixture against Galatasaray in Istanbul.
The Athletic selected this photograph for their match preview and predictions piece, using it to anchor the team news and line-up analysis ahead of the game. It is the kind of editorial use that highlights how a technically solid team sheet image becomes an essential reference point for readers following the build-up to a major European fixture.
Being present at pitch-side for both the pre-match protocols and the full ninety minutes is central to the way I work. Holding UEFA press accreditation and based in Istanbul, I cover Champions League nights and Turkish Süper Lig fixtures from inside the action, producing images that serve international editorial clients at every stage of a story — before, during, and after the final whistle.
Link to the publication : https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7123119/2026/03/17/liverpool-galatasaray-predictions-team/
