Galatasaray beat Juventus 5-2 in Champions League playoff clash

Galatasaray produced a remarkable turnaround to defeat Juventus 5-2 in their UEFA Champions League round of 16 playoff clash, overwhelming the Italian side with four unanswered goals in the second half.

The Turkish hosts struck first in the 15th minute through Brazilian midfielder Gabriel Sara, who capitalized on a defensive mistake to calmly put his side ahead. Juventus, forced to deploy Weston McKennie as a makeshift false nine due to injuries in attack, quickly found a response. Teun Koopmeiners leveled the score after Pierre Kalulu’s header was parried, reacting fastest to slot home the rebound and make it 1-1.

Koopmeiners added his second goal in the 32nd minute, finishing off a well-worked one-two with McKennie before firing past the goalkeeper to hand Juventus a 2-1 lead at the break.

Galatasaray regained control soon after the restart. Dutch winger Noa Lang equalized early in the second half, taking advantage of Juventus’ defensive reshuffle following injuries to Bremer and Andrea Cambiaso.

The momentum fully shifted on the hour mark when Colombian defender Davinson Sanchez headed in his first Champions League goal, putting the home side back in front. Juventus’ hopes diminished further when substitute Juan Cabal was shown a second yellow card and sent off.

Sensing vulnerability, Galatasaray pressed forward relentlessly. Lang, who arrived on loan from Napoli in January, struck again in the 75th minute after another defensive lapse. Sacha Boey, recently back on loan from Bayern Munich, capped the dominant display with a powerful fifth goal to seal the victory.

The second leg will take place in Turin next Wednesday. The winner of the tie will face either Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur in the round of 16, with the draw set for February 27.

In other fixtures, defending champions Paris Saint-Germain travel to Monaco, Real Madrid visit Benfica weeks after their defeat in Lisbon, and Borussia Dortmund host Atalanta. The Dortmund match was delayed by 15 minutes due to the late arrival of the home team bus. Four additional first-leg matches are scheduled for Wednesday.

Stabil.Az