February 26, (THEWILL) — Nigerian striker, Victor Osimhen, and Baris Yilmaz were the match-winning heroes as Galatasaray survived a dramatic fightback from Juventus to book their place in the UEFA Champions League round of 16, progressing 7-5 on aggregate after a 3-2 defeat in Turin.
Juventus needed to overturn a 5-2 deficit from the opening leg and wasted little time in applying pressure, with Kenan Yildiz testing Ugurcan Cakir before Manuel Locatelli converted a penalty to give the home side the lead on the night, after Lucas Torreira had fouled Khephren Thuram in the box.
The tie took a significant turn in the 49th minute when Lloyd Kelly received a second yellow card, following a VAR intervention that overturned an initial straight red, for landing on Baris Yilmaz. Juventus powered on nonetheless with Federico Gatti tapping home from close range on 70 minutes before Weston McKennie headed in from Teun Koopmeiners’ pass to level the aggregate score at 5-5 and force extra time.
Juventus then squandered a gilt-edged opportunity to advance when McKennie squared to Edon Zhegrova, who curled wide with Cakir off his line. Osimhen made them pay in ruthless fashion, finishing calmly through the legs of Mattia Perin at the end of the first period of extra time to restore Galatasaray’s aggregate lead in the tie.
Yilmaz applied the finishing touch in the 119th minute to confirm the result and extinguish any remaining hope for Juventus. It was Osimhen’s composure at the critical moment, however, that had effectively determined which club would progress to the last 16.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
