Juventus 3 Galatasaray 2 (5-7)
What could have been for Juventus tonight? I have to say I was so impressed with how Juventus went about getting back in the tie tonight, they came out with an intent to score early peppering the Galatasaray net with shots but it wasn’t until the 36th minute when Locatelli gave the Juve fans hope from the penalty spot to put Juventus 1-0 up on the night. Juventus continued to press forward in the first half but were unable to get that second goal before the first half ended. Then disaster struck right at the start of the second half when Lloyd Kelly was sent off after a VAR review for landing on Baris Alper Yilmaz after going up for a header, a ridiculous decision which we’ll get onto later but it left Juve down to 10-men and in need of a miracle to get back into the game. Even though they were down to 10 Juve were still by far the better team and pulled another one back through Federico Gatti in the 69th minute from Pierre Kalulu’s cross. The comeback was then completed as Weston Mckennie nodded in from a free-kick in the 81st minute to send the Juve fans into raptures in the stands as the game went into extra-time.
Just about for Galatasaray in extra-time. Juventus looked knackered going into extra-time but were still pushing for the winner which should have came after Mckennie unselfishly set up Zhegrova who’s sidefoot effort looked easier to score than miss but agonisingly rolled wide just at the start of extra-time. Gala then started to seize some control of the match and eventually did score just before the first half of ET ended as Yilmaz’s pass went through to Osimhen who finished calmly to put Gala back in front on aggregate. Juventus were pushing for the equaliser in the second half of ET but Gala managed to put the tie to bed in the 117th minute as Singo sent Yilmaz through on goal who poked it past Di Gregorio to eventually win the tie for Galatasaray in what could have been a very embarrassing night for the Turkish club.
The red card cost Juventus the tie in my opinion. Even though Juve scored two goals after the red card it still obviously had a massive impact on the game, Juve were battering Galatasaray creating chance after chance in that first half with Gala doing very little at the other end to worry Di Gregorio in the Juve goal. Then a pretty innocuous collision happened in the midfield at the start of the second half as Lloyd Kelly landed on Yilmaz after going up for a header were he solely had eyes on the ball and accidently landed on Yilmaz who made the most of it to get Kelly sent off. I have no idea why VAR wants to get involved in everything in these European matches whether it’s handballs or red cards which we seem to see at least one of every game in the Champions League these days. Fair play to Juventus who managed to get the game to extra-time anyway but you could tell just how big the impact playing with 10-men for a half had on the team in extra-time. Once again the VAR in Europe decides to spoil the occasion when there’s no reason to get involved.
What was that from Galatasaray? You’d swear it was a completely different team that took to the pitch in Turin than the one which battered Juventus last week in Turkey but Gala were seriously lucky to get into the next round with the way they played today. They looked terrified to actually go forward and try to score which played perfectly into Juve’s hands as they created a multitude of chances that on another day would have led to 5 or 6 goals even before extra-time. I don’t like singling out players but I have to say that Leroy Sane might just have had the worst substitute appearance I’ve ever seen, giving the ball away time after time and then not tracking back after he lost it, for someone who’s earning a heap of money in Turkey I’d expect so much more especially for someone as talented as he is. Gala squeezed through in extra-time but they can’t afford to play like that in the next round if they want any chance of going through.
It’s Liverpool or Spurs next for Galatasaray. I’m sure everyone involved with Galatasaray will be looking for Spurs in the next round seeing as they currently sit 16th in the Premier League but they have looked good in Europe so it wouldn’t be a gimme that Gala would go through in that one. On the other hand although Gala did beat Liverpool in the league phase a few months ago I think it would be a completely different story over two legs. If Gala play like they did tonight at Anfield they could get seriously embarrassed if they’re not careful, with the first leg taking place in Turkey Gala would need at least a 2-goal lead in my opinion to bring to Anfield if they want a chance of going through. I suppose we’ll see what happens at the draw on Friday.