February 17, (THEWILL) — Galatasaray claimed a commanding 5-2 victory over Juventus in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League play-off tie at Rams Park.
Gabriel Sara opened the scoring after 15 minutes, pouncing on a defensive error from Bremer. Teun Koopmeiners responded within 85 seconds for the Italian side before adding a second shortly after the half-hour mark with a strike into the top-left corner from distance.
The match shifted decisively in the second half when Noa Lang, who arrived on loan from Napoli last month, drew the hosts level four minutes after the restart. Davinson Sanchez then put Galatasaray ahead by diverting Sara’s powerful free-kick past goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio.
Juventus were reduced to 10 men when substitute Juan Cabal collected a second yellow card during a chaotic eight-minute period. Lang capitalised on a turnover inside the Juventus penalty area to extend the lead, leaving the visitors in disarray.
Sacha Boey completed the rout late on after excellent build-up play from Victor Osimhen allowed the full-back to advance into the box and finish. Okan Buruk’s side now hold a significant advantage ahead of the return fixture in Turin.
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.
