Juventus Vs Galatasaray: Italians fight back to force extra time but fall short
In a dramatic juventus vs galatasaray play-off, Juventus won 3-2 at the Allianz Stadium but were eliminated 7-5 on aggregate after Galatasaray scored twice in extra time. Manuel Locatelli opened the scoring for Juventus, while Federico Gatti and Weston McKennie brought the hosts level before Victor Osimhen and Baris Yilmaz struck in extra time.
First-half penalty and response
Trailing 5-2 from the first encounter in Istanbul, Juventus captain Manuel Locatelli started the recovery, stroking in a first-half penalty after Lucas Torreira had fouled Khephren Thuram. That goal gave the home side belief and set up a tense second half at the Allianz Stadium.
Juventus Vs Galatasaray extra time
The tie went to extra time after Federico Gatti tapped in Pierre Kalulu's 70th-minute cross and American midfielder Weston McKennie headed in with eight minutes left to restore parity on the night and level the tie at 5-5 on aggregate. Juventus had threatened to become only the fourth club to progress after losing the first leg of a knockout tie in the competition by three or more goals.
Red cards and VAR controversy
Another dismissal followed for the Italian side in the 49th minute when English centre-back Lloyd Kelly had a second yellow card upgraded to a straight red after a video assistant referee check. The decision was taken after the VAR review concluded Kelly had caught Baris Yilmaz on the back of the Achilles when landing following an aerial clash. Juventus had already seen Juan Cabal sent off in the first leg, and the new red card looked to have derailed the home side's chances.
Late comeback and goals
Despite being down to 10 men, Juventus responded superbly. Federico Gatti's 70th-minute tap-in from Pierre Kalulu's cross provided renewed hope and the Allianz Stadium erupted when Weston McKennie restored parity from close range. Edon Zhegrova then shot wastefully wide as the hosts expended energy preparing for extra time.
In extra time the visitors regained control. Victor Osimhen fired in a low effort after being picked out by Baris Yilmaz; moments later, with just a minute left, Yilmaz finished a break with a composed strike past home goalkeeper Mattia Perin to make the aggregate 7-5 and put Galatasaray into the last 16. The build for the Osimhen goal saw the ball played wide left to Victor Osimhen, who shot the ball through the legs of a defender and into the far corner. Victor Osimhen has scored seven goals in the Champions League this term.
Other knockout play-off results
Across the same night, other knockout play-off results included Real Madrid 2-1 Benfica (3-1 aggregate) with Vinicius Jr and Tchouameni scoring either side of half-time, PSG 2-2 Monaco (5-4 aggregate) with Marquinhos and Kvaratskhelia sending the European champions through, and Atalanta 4-1 Dortmund (4-3 aggregate) where Samardzic scored a 98th-minute penalty to put the Italian side into the last 16. Vinicius Jr got himself on the scoresheet again to help Real Madrid move into the last 16.
Reactions and live moments
Match commentators for the night included Michael Emons, Steve Sutcliffe and Marissa Thomas. Don Hutchison said: "It was silence as soon as it fell to Victor Osimhen in that bit of space. " Observers described a moment when Osimhen had just scored and then created a chance for Eren Elmali, but Elmali's finish was no good and he ballooned the ball into the stands. Moments after a five on three counter attack fell apart, Galatasaray took the overall lead again. Leroy Sane flighted a brilliant curling ball from close to the right touchline but no Galatasaray team-mate could get the final touch. Lucas Torreira had a 25-yard effort that was straight at Mattia Perin. At one stage Juventus had 15 minutes left and needed to score if they were to force penalties.
Some reaction focused on the red card decision, with debate over why Kelly's second yellow became an 'awful' straight red. After the opportunity to rate players closed, the score displayed represented the average from all user submissions. A relieved Galatasaray will now face either Liverpool or Tottenham on their first last-16 appearance in Europe's elite club competition since 2013-14.
Juventus finished the night with a 3-2 victory on the night but fell short in the tie overall, beaten 7-5 on aggregate after extra time.
