*Eagles star records two assists
Juventus suffered their first UEFA Champions League (UCL) defeat under Luciano Spalletti as they were beaten 5-2 by Galatasaray in the first leg of their play-off round tie.
With this, their first participation in the UCL knockout stages since 2013/14, the hosts were desperate to make an impression in front of their own supporters, and they started on the front foot.
It was a match in which Eagles striker Victor Osimhen did not hit the target but had a good outing by assisting the last two goals.
Inside the opening 10 minutes, Yunus Akgun was inches away from breaking the deadlock when his effort from outside the area arrowed past the post, but Galatasaray were still in front by the quarter-hour mark.
Juventus’ Kenan Yildiz is far more effective in the final third than in his own area, and it was his loss of possession that allowed Gabriel Sara to bury into the corner after the ball eventually broke his way.
However, Gala’s lead lasted less than 60 seconds as Juve struck back immediately. Ugurcan Cakır did well to parry Pierre Kalulu’s header, but there was nothing he could do to deny Teun Koopmeiners on the rebound
Subsequently, both teams had several chances to take the lead. The Lions’ top scorer Victor Osimhen finally burst into life, volleying over before forcing Michele Di Gregorio into a save low to his left.
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.
Galatasaray introduced Mauro Icardi from the bench, but it was another substitute, Sacha Boey, who added the icing to the cake with a devastating finish from a tight angle.
Okan Buruk’s side now have a commanding lead to take with them to Turin, and given they have now lost just one of their past seven meetings with Juventus, they will be confident of getting the job done.
The Old Lady, meanwhile, have won just one of their past six in all competitions and are staring a second consecutive play-off round exit in the face.
