In the 2009–10 season, Kewell scored 14 goals in 28 matches in all competitions. He netted 9 times in 17 league appearances, playing as the main striker in most matches due to an injured Milan Baroš. In a 2009–10 Turkish Cup play-off, Kewell scored in a 2–1 win against Bucaspor on 28 October 2009 to put the side into the group stage phase of the tournament. Finishing on top of their group, Galatasaray were eliminated at the quarter-final stage against Antalyaspor. During the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds, Kewell scored Galatasaray's second goal in a 4–1 away win against Israeli club Maccabi Netanya on 30 July 2009. Kewell would then score in a 5–0 win against Estonia's Levadia Tallinn on 20 August 2009. Galatsaray qualified for the group stage phase. On 22 October 2009, Kewell scored in a 4–1 win over Dinamo București in Istanbul. In the return leg on 5 November 2009, he scored after 22 minutes in an eventual 3–0 Galatasaray victory. Galatasaray faced Atlético Madrid in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League knockout phase where they lost 3–2 on aggregate to the eventual champions.