Turkish Süper Lig toppers, Galatasaray, squeezed through to the last 16 of the Uefa Champions League 2025/26 after throwing away a three-goal aggregate lead against Italian Serie A side, Juventus, with two (2) goals in the extra time inspired by Nigerian sharpshooter, Victor Osimhen.
Super Eagles striker, Osimhen, and Baris Yilmaz netted the goals in extra-time for the Yellow-Reds which made way for Galatasaray to emerge winner in a thrilling Play-off tie 7-5 in Turin.
The result means Galatasaray will gear up for a round of 16 clash with either Tottenham Hotspur or Liverpool.
The Turkish top flight giants last appeared in the round of 16 of the Uefa Champions League in 2014, and were very lucky to scale through on Wednesday night against the Bianconeri, who played with one man down.
Juventus went in front through Manuel Locatelli’s penalty kick in the 37th minute, and in the 48th minute Lloyd Kelly was sent off the pitch after bagging a straight red card after landing his studs on Yilmaz’s Achilles heel; Kelly’s red card came following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) check.
Luciano Spalletti, head coach of Juventus, watched helplessly from the sidelines as his English defender was sent off. Kelly, who was shocked at the red card, described the decision as a “disgrace” as the VAR decision looked like it had shattered the Italian side’s hopes of a comeback.
But, in the 70th minute, a seriously determined Juventus pulled another goal through Federico Gatti, and in the 82nd minute, American midfielder, Weston McKennie, netted the third for the hosts to draw level in the tie.
In the 6th minute of extra time, the Turkish side woke up and found the back of the net after Osimhen had converted a glorious chance provided by Yilmaz.
And in the 119th minute, Yilmaz scored Galatasaray’s second with an assist from W. Singo.
Yilmaz’ goal struck out Juve’s hopes of taking the showdown to penalties.
On the other side, Jose Mourinho’s Benfica, who went in front in the 14th minute through R. Silva, eventually got defeated 2-1 by Spanish La Liga side, Real Madrid, at Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid.
A. Tchouameni levelled for Xabi Alonso’s Los Blancos in the 16th minute, and Vinicius Junior, who gave the home side their one-goal advantage with his goal in Lisbon, Portugal, sealed the win in the 80th minute with an assist from Federico Valverde.
Results
| Uefa Champions League 2025/26 – Wednesday 25 February, 2026 |
| Atalanta 4-1 Borussia Dortmund (Agg 4-3) |
| Juventus 3-2 Galatasaray (Agg 5-7) |
| Paris Saint-Germaine (PSG) 2-2 AS Monaco (Agg 5-4) |
| Real Madrid 2-1 Benfica (Agg 3-1) |
| Uefa Champions League 2025/26 – Tuesday 24 February, 2026 |
| Atletico Madrid 4-1 Club Brugge (Agg 7-4) |
| Bayer Leverkusen 0-0 Olympiacos (Agg 2-0) |
| Inter 1-2 Bodoe/Glimt (Agg 2-5) |
| Newcastle United 3-2 Qarabag FK (Agg 9-3) |
