Gala Advances Late: Juventus vs Galatasaray Knockout Play-Offs Game 2 Recap

The Knockout Play-Off Round of the Champions League comes to an end on Wednesday. A Champions League classic awaits between Juventus and Galatasaray, as the Old Lady hosts the Turkish Lions in Turin.

(Image credits to si.com)

8 days ago in the first game of this tie, Galatasaray shocked everyone by beating Juventus 5-2 in Istanbul. Juve came home with injured and suspended players, plus a 3-goal deficit. Another defeat in Serie A against Como over the weekend, make Spalletti’s men desperate for a good result coming into this fixture. The odds for them are not impossible, but surely a tough challenge to overcome. On the other side of the tie, Galatasaray also took a hit in the championship battle in the Turkish Super League on the weekend against Konyaspor. So, Okan Buruk’s men will want to make sure nothing unexpected happens in Turin, after gaining a good advantage on Juve last week. Before we move onto the game, let’s have a look at the starting elevens of both teams:

Juventus XI: Perin - Kalulu - Kelly - Gatti - McKennie - Thuram - Locatelli(c) - Koopmeiners - Conceiçao - Yildiz - David

Galatasaray XI: Cakir - Sallai - Sanchez - Bardakci(c) - Jakobs - Torreira - Lemina - B.A. Yilmaz - Sara - Lang - Osimhen

Compared to the first game, Juventus makes 3 changes in their first eleven. Perin starts in goal instead of Di Gregorio, Gatti replaces the injured Bremer in defence and David returns from injury to start up front. McKennie plays as a left-back in this game, as both of Juve’s original left-backs, Cambiaso and Cabal, are suspended. Vlahovic, Milik and Holm are also still injured. Meanwhile, the Turkish side makes only 1 change from last week, as ex-Juve player Mario Lemina replaces Yunus Akgün in midfield. The Gabonese midfielder was ruled out at last week’s game.

(Image credit to onefootball.com)

First Half

The match begins rapidly with attacks from both sides, as Gala finds the first shot on target saved by Perin and Gatti answers with a missed header of his own. Tensions also rise from the early minutes of the game with fouls after fouls and arguing players on the pitch. Both teams try to use the long throws effectively and Galatasaray almost creates a chance with Osimhen from one of them. Mattia Perin once again denies the Turkish side. Towards the halfway point of the first half, Juve builds pressure on Gala box with consecutive corners, but Ugurcan Cakir saves Locatelli’s strong, long-range shot and Conceiçao can’t find the target. Lloyd Kelly sees a yellow card in the 25th minute, which rules him out of the first game of Round 16, if the Old Lady turns this tie. Juventus find their chance in the 36th minute, when Sanchez loses the ball to Koopmeiners. The Dutchman crosses in to Jonathan David, who quickly sends the ball to Thuram. Before the Frenchman shoots, Lucas Torreira brings him down in the box and the referee gives Italians a penalty. Captain Locatelli converts the penalty to a goal and the Old Lady takes one back from the Lions. Juventus presses for a second goal in the first half, but can’t make their chances work with Gatti, David and Thuram. The first half ends with Juve leading 1-0 over Gala. Statistically speaking, the teams matched each other over the ball possession and shots on goal until this point. However, Juve’s pressure from the 20th minute on and Davinson Sanchez’s mistake leading to the penalty made the difference in the first half.

(Image credit to kicker.de)

Second Half

The second half starts as chaotic and tense as the first half. In a challenge between Kelly and Yilmaz, the British defender’s foot lands on Yilmaz’s leg after the header and the referee sends Kelly off with a second yellow. A few minutes later, after a VAR check, his second yellow turns into a direct red card and so Juve is a man down for the second week straight. However, unlike last week, the Old Lady doesn’t lose the momentum this time, despite the red card. Kenan Yildiz and Conceiçao keep forcing the hands of Galatasaray full-backs, who were having trouble against the rapid wingers of Juventus this entire time. The Lions start finding more openings with counter attacks on the Italian side as well, but Kalulu and Gatti don’t let Gala finish their attacks. With each minute passing, Gala grows more complacent and takes the one man advantage for granted, especially after subbing Leroy Sane in. However, Luciano Spalletti makes a sub that would flip the script on Galatasaray’s plans. He subs Zhegrova and Boga in and only 3 minutes later, in 70th minute, the Kosovian winger plays his part in Juventus’ second goal. He passes the ball in to Kalulu, who whips in a powerful pass to the far post and gives Gatti a tap-in to make it 2-0. Taking the deficit back to one goal frightens the Turkish side, as they start making more mistakes at the back and leave more openings in midfield. In the 77th minute, Thuram dribbles past three Gala defenders into the box and tries to lob the keeper, but his shot goes over the crossbar. Only 2 minutes later, Boga and Kenan Yildiz try their luck this time and hit the post. On their third try to equalise the tie, Koopmeiners sends a header towards the far post and this time, Weston McKennie manages to land the ball into Galatasaray’s net. Juventus overturns the 3 goal deficit, as the tie goes to extra time with 3-0 for the Old Lady. Both teams’ reactions after the red card became decisive in turning the tide to Juve. Zhegrova’s presence affected the game immediately as well. Meanwhile, Galatasaray’s complacent behaviour, incapability to be clinical in front and wasted counter attacks, put them at the edge of the knife with fears of losing the tie.

(Image credit to sofascore.com)

Extra Time

In the period, when a mistake may not be redeemed, Juventus finds the first threat. Jeremie Boga crosses the ball to McKennie, who finds the unmarked Zhegrova. However, the Kosovian winger, who did so well in the second half, misses the golden opportunity to put Juve in front on aggregate. Wasting this chance gives the Lions courage and the momentum shifts to Galatasaray this time, when Kenan Yildiz comes off for Juve and Singo comes in for Gala. With their increasing pressure, Yilmaz finally puts Osimhen into position to score with a tidy finish in the 105th minute. This goal puts Galatasaray in front of the tie, just before the first half of the extra time ends. The Nigerian striker hadn't scored a goal in Turin during his run at Serie A, but he didn’t miss the opportunity he got in the Champions League. In the second half of the extra time, everything turns upside down for Juventus. Zhegrova, once again creates an opportunity, after dribbling past Eren Elmali, but his shot from a tight angle is deflected by the keeper. New-sub Kostic finds the rebound, but misses the target. Towards the end, in the 119th minute, Wilfried Singo dribbles into Juventus’ half and sends a through ball towards the runway of Osimhen and Yilmaz. Baris Alper Yilmaz makes the last touch and seals the fate of the tie with the Lions’ second goal. The game concludes with a 3-2 victory for Juventus, but Galatasaray wins 7-5 on aggregate and qualifies to the Round of 16 for the first time since 2014. 

(Image credit to @galatasaray on Instagram)

Juventus fans sent their team off with cheers and applause, praising the valiant effort their players gave to return from 3 goals back. Players have shown some signs of life for the first time in a while and almost overturned the challenging odds, but the chances they missed haunted them in extra time. Despite continuing with 10 men since the 50th minute, Juve has shown great character to hold on to the game. Kalulu and Gatti’s work rate in defence and contributions in attack didn’t go unnoticed, they were some of the bests on the pitch. The Old Lady used the wings effectively as well, but the forwards were far from being clinical up front and wasted crucial opportunities. On the other side, Galatasaray made this game very difficult for themselves and almost threw away the tie. Their complacent reaction after the red card gave Juventus the courage they needed to come back. They were mostly wasteful up front and the Sane-Gundogan duo was almost non-present from the moment they subbed on. Victor Osimhen was named the Man of the Match for Gala. The Nigerian striker kept pressing all match long and supported his teammates. He couldn’t meet the ball too much up front, but used the one perfect opportunity he received. Baris Alper Yilmaz became the tie breaker of this matchup, sending off 2 players, contributing with 2 assists and 1 goal over both games. However, despite winning the tie, Galatasaray was so much exposed in the second game in Turin, that it may overshadow their huge victory in Istanbul last week.

(Image credit to kicker.de)

In a nutshell, Galatasaray managed to get past Juventus in the Knockout Play-Offs of the Champions League, despite making it difficult for themselves. The Round of 16 draw will take place on Friday, 27th of February, and Galatasaray will either face Liverpool or Tottenham next. We’ll see how far the Turkish Lions can go in the Champions League this season.

Article written by Emre Albas © Emre Albas 2026