Galatasaray Istanbul reached the round of 16 of the Champions League after a thrilling game and despite a defeat in the playoff second leg at Juventus Turin.
Striker Victor Osimhen and Barış Yılmaz With their goals in extra time, Galatasaray Istanbul reached the round of 16 of the Champions League. Coach Okan Buruk’s team lost 2:3 nV (3:0, 1:0) at Juventus Turin. But these two goals were enough for the Istanbul team’s big lead from the playoff first leg a week ago (5:2) to be reflected in the overall calculation.
Turin was very close to achieving the miracle, but being outnumbered after 49 minutes ultimately cost the team too much energy. After a heated, hard-fought and emotionally charged game, the Turks are in the round of the last 16 teams in the premier class and now have to play against either Liverpool FC or Tottenham Hotspur in the round of 16 (March 11 and March 18, 2026).
Juventus captain Manuel Locatelli scored from the penalty spot to make it 1-0 (37th), his colleague, defender Lloyd Kelly, was shown red at the start of the second half after a serious foul (49th). Federico Gatti increased the score to 2-0 (70′). Weston McKennie scored 3-0 in regular time (82′). Osimhen scored the 3-1 goal (105th + 1) for “Gala” in extra time, Yılmaz shortened the score to 3-2 (119th).
Galatasaray with first Offensive actions
Anyone who had believed that the Turin team would attack from the start was disappointed. The Italians started offensively, but without neglecting their defensive work. But the Turks didn’t plan to rely solely on their defense either.
Both teams had two chances to score in the first 15 minutes. But neither the headers from Juventus players Federico Gatti (4th) and Teun Koopmeiners (10th) found their way into the goal, nor the attempts from Galatasaray professionals Davinson Sánchez (2nd) and Victor Osimhen (12th).
Locatelli gives Juve the lead
The team from Istanbul, in which Ilkay Gündogan and Leroy Sané had to sit on the reserve bench in the first half, proved to be a stubborn opponent for Juventus. The Buruk team acted in a tactically disciplined, highly concentrated and aggressive manner, which made things particularly difficult for the Italians.
But the Italians persevered, kept the pace high and kept trying. Francisco Conceição, Locatelli and Kenan Yıldız initially failed with their long-range shots against the strong Turkish goalkeeper Uğurcan Çakır.
And then former Freiburg player Roland Sallai committed a foul on Yildiz in the Turkish penalty area. Locatelli converted the penalty to give the team a 1-0 lead. That was also the halftime score.
Red for Kelly
After the break it continued with bad news for the Spalletti team. After an unintentional foul by Kelly on Barış Yilmaz, after the Juventus defender landed awkwardly on the Galatasaray attacker’s calf after a header, referee João Pinheiro showed Kelly the red card.
But the Italians were not deterred by this setback and the numerical disadvantage and did everything they could to turn things around. After a cross from the right corner of the penalty area from Edon Zhegrova, Gatti only had to put his foot down at the far post and make it 2-0.
McKennie scores a redeeming goal
Afterwards, the Galatasaray players’ nerves were on edge as Juve kept running at them with almost endless strength. Khéphren Thuram with an unsuccessful lob (77th) and Yildiz, who directed a cross from Jérémie Boga with the tip of his foot against the Turkish goal post (79th), had already scored the third goal.
But: McKennie did it better. After a cross from Koopmeiners, the former Schalke player headed the ball from four meters to make it 3-0, which was hardly thought possible.
Osimhen and Yilmaz ice cold in front of the goal
Even in extra time, Juventus remained in control, Zhegrova (96th) missed a huge chance from eight meters when he failed to hit the goal when unchallenged. At least the Turks were able to calm the game down a bit and take more control again.
And then came Osimhen, who took advantage of a loss of the ball in the Juventus defense and, as usual, pushed the ball through the legs of goalkeeper Mattia Perin after a pass from Yilmaz. Yilmaz scored after a counterattack against a completely exhausted team from Turin to make the final score 2-3.
