UCL: Galatasaray Crush Juventus in Champions League

Galatasaray stuns Juventus 5-2 in UCL playoff

Turkish side Galatasaray beats Juventus in UCL playoff, takes commanding lead to Turin.

Khephren Thuram’s pass to Lloyd Kelly put the Englishman in a difficult position...

Noa Lang was the star of the show as Galatasaray dominated Juventus 5-2 in the first leg of their Champions League playoff. The Turkish side came out strong, taking the lead in the 15th minute with Gabriel Sara's stunning long-range strike. However, Juventus fought back, with Teun Koopmeiners scoring two goals to put them ahead 2-1 at halftime.

Things took a turn for the worse for Juventus in the second half, as they conceded four unanswered goals. Lang scored his second of the night, and Davinson Sanchez added a third. The final nail in the coffin was Sacha Boey's powerful strike in the 86th minute, securing Galatasaray's 5-2 win. Juan Cabal's red card in the 67th minute didn't help Juventus' cause.

Galatasaray had a promising start, with Yunus Akgun's early shot narrowly missing the target. Despite this, they took the lead within 15 minutes, capitalizing on Kenan Yildiz's mistake in the final third. Gabriel Sara pounced on the loose ball, tucking it away for the goal.

Galatasaray stormed back in the second half, scoring twice in the opening 15 minutes to regain the lead. Noa Lang tapped in a rebound after Di Gregorio parried Baris Yilmaz's drive, and Davinson Sanchez scored from a Gabriel Sara free-kick.

Juventus hit back immediately, equalizing just a minute after Galatasaray's lead. Ugurcan Cakır parried Pierre Kalulu's header, but Teun Koopmeiners pounced on the rebound to level it.

The game was intense, with both teams creating chances. Victor Osimhen had a couple of good opportunities, volleying over and forcing a save from Michele Di Gregorio.

Yet, although Galatasaray saw out the half strongly, with Di Gregorio denying Akgün and Rolland Sallai firing over at the back post from a corner, the Turkish outfit were behind at the break.

Koopmeiners was again the thorn in the home team’s side, playing a lovely one-two with false nine Weston McKennie before finishing with aplomb into the top corner. 

The second period started much like the first, with Galatasaray taking the game to their opponents. However, instead of scoring just once in the opening 15 minutes, they did so twice to restore their advantage.

The equaliser was similar to Koopmeiners’ first effort, as Di Gregorio could only push Baris Yilmaz’s drive into Noa Lang’s path for a simple tap-in.

Then, while Davinson Sanchez did not meet Sara’s free-kick as well as he would have liked, he still got enough contact to shoulder the inswinging set-piece into the corner

To make matters worse for the Bianconeri, they were reduced to 10 men with over 20 minutes remaining when Cabal received a second yellow card for his foul on Yilmaz.

In an apparent effort to provide their opponents with plenty of gifts, Juve shot themselves in the foot once more as Galatasaray extended their advantage shortly after.

Khephren Thuram’s pass to Lloyd Kelly put the Englishman in a difficult position, allowing Osimhen to nick the ball into Lang’s path for an easy finish.

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Sacha Boey sealed the win for Galatasaray with a stunning goal from a tight angle, making it 5-2. Okan Buruk's side now have a strong advantage heading into the return leg in Turin.

Galatasaray's momentum is huge, having lost just one of their past seven meetings with Juventus. Juventus, on the other hand, are struggling, winning just one of their past six games.