Galatasaray staged a stunning comeback to beat Juventus 5-2 in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 playoff, overwhelming the Italian side with a four-goal second-half surge.
The hosts opened the scoring in the 15th minute when Brazilian midfielder Gabriel Sara calmly finished after a defensive error from the Italian side. Juventus, deploying Weston McKennie as a makeshift false nine due to attacking absences, responded swiftly. Teun Koopmeiners equalized after Pierre Kalulu’s header was saved, tapping in the rebound to make it 1-1.
The Dutch midfielder struck again on 32 minutes, completing a neat one-two with McKennie before driving the ball home to give the visitors a 2-1 lead at halftime.
Galatasaray shifted momentum early in the second half as Dutch winger Noa Lang brought the score level, capitalizing after Juventus were forced into defensive changes following injuries to Bremer and Andrea Cambiaso.
The Turkish side then surged ahead on the hour mark when Colombian defender Davinson Sanchez headed in his first-ever Champions League goal. Juventus’ hopes of mounting a comeback faded further when substitute Juan Cabal was sent off after receiving a second yellow card.
Galatasaray continued to press their advantage. Lang, who joined on loan from Napoli in January, punished more defensive lapses in the 75th minute, and Sacha Boey, back on loan from Bayern Munich, sealed the emphatic result with a powerful fifth goal.
The return leg will be played in Turin next Wednesday, with the winner set to face either Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur in the round of 16. The draw to confirm the matchup is scheduled for Feb. 27.
Elsewhere, three additional first-leg ties were set for Tuesday, including defending champions Paris Saint-Germain visiting Monaco, record winners Real Madrid traveling to Benfica weeks after losing in Lisbon, and Borussia Dortmund hosting Atalanta. The Dortmund match was delayed by 15 minutes due to the late arrival of the home team bus.
Four more first-leg matches are scheduled for Wednesday.
