GOAL! Galatasaray 4-2 Juventus (Lang 75)
Juventus have collapsed dramatically. Khephren Thuram delivers a dangerous pass to Lloyd Kelly in his own penalty area. Victor Osimhen intercepts the ball from Kelly’s toe and passes it to Noa Lang, who faces Michele Di Gregorio one-on-one. The goalkeeper spreads himself at Lang’s feet, but Lang calmly lifts the ball over him into the net. This marks a remarkable breakdown for Juventus. Credit is due to Galatasaray for their relentless pressing.
Galatasaray lead 4-2 against Juventus. Luciano Spalletti might have preferred to keep Andrea Cambiaso on the pitch, who, despite being on a disciplinary edge, was performing well. The 21-minute chaotic appearance by Juan Cabal will be remembered as a significant nightmare for Juventus.
RED CARD: Cabal (Juventus)
Juan Cabal, a half-time substitute, lasted only 21 minutes. He misjudged a long pass down Galatasaray’s right flank, allowing Barış Alper Yılmaz to turn past him. Cabal then fouled Yılmaz by pulling him to the ground, resulting in a second yellow card and a red. Prior to Noa Lang’s equalizer, Cabal was nutmegged, caught out of position on a cross, conceded a free kick leading to Sanchez’s goal, nearly received a second booking for touching the referee, and now was sent off. His cameo was marked by a series of unfortunate events.
Galatasaray lead 3-2 over Juventus. The match in Istanbul is delivering top-tier entertainment. Juventus responded to their hosts’ pressure, with Lloyd Kelly heading a corner from the right wide, signaling potential for more goals.
GOAL! Galatasaray 3-2 Juventus (Sanchez 60)
The free kick is awarded just to the right of Juventus’s box. Gabriel Sara delivers a powerful cross. Davinson Sánchez only needs to glance the ball with his eyebrow to direct it past Michele Di Gregorio into the top left corner. The finish was flawless, thanks to Sara’s world-class delivery. Galatasaray immediately respond to Juventus’s comeback with this goal, making it a thrilling contest.
Galatasaray 2-2 Juventus
Juan Cabal fouls Barış Alper Yılmaz on the right flank near the box, earning a yellow card. He nearly received a second booking after grabbing the referee’s arm, prompting Danny Makkelie to admonish him. From the resulting free kick, Galatasaray equalized.
This was Noa Lang’s first goal for Galatasaray since joining on loan from Napoli. The 26-year-old Dutch winger had an underwhelming spell at Napoli after transferring from PSV Eindhoven in the summer.
8pm Teamsheets
Benfica: Trubin, Dedic, Tomas Araujo, Otamendi, Dahl, Barreiro, Aursnes, Prestianni, Rafa Silva, Schjelderup, Pavlidis.
Subs: Ferreira, Antonio Silva, Barrenechea, Bah, Bruma, Ivanovic, Sudakov, Lukebakio, Cabral, Manu, Rios, Anisio Cabral.
Real Madrid: Courtois, Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Huijsen, Carreras, Guler, Valverde, Tchouameni, Camavinga, Mbappe, Vinicius Junior.
Subs: Lunin, Carvajal, Alaba, Gonzalo Garcia, Ceballos, Francisco Garcia, Diaz, Mendy, Mastantuono, Cestero, Martinez, Pitarch.
Borussia Dortmund: Kobel, Reggiani, Anton, Bensebaini, Ryerson, Bellingham, Nmecha, Svensson, Beier, Brandt, Guirassy.
Subs: Ostrzinski, Meyer, Yan Couto, Ozcan, Chukwuemeka, Sabitzer, Silva, Adeyemi, Inacio, Kabar, Krevsun, Benkara.
Atalanta: Carnesecchi, Kossounou, Djimsiti, Kolasinac, Zappacosta, de Roon, Ederson Silva, Bernasconi, Pasalic, Zalewski, Scamacca.
Subs: Rossi, Sportiello, Hien, Bakker, Musah, Sulemana, Samardzic, Bellanova, Scalvini, Ahanor, Krstovic, Vavassori.
Monaco: Kohn, Vanderson, Teze, Faes, Henrique, Camara, Zakaria, Akliouche, Golovin, Adingra, Balogun.
Subs: Stawiecki, Lienard, Biereth, Idumbo-Muzambo, Bamba, Diatta, Coulibaly, Toure, Nibombe.
PSG: Safonov, Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes, Zaire Emery, Vitinha, Neves, Kvaratskhelia, Dembele, Barcola.
Subs: Chevalier, Marin, Lucas Beraldo, Zabarnyi, Goncalo Ramos, Doue, Lee, Hernandez, Fernandez, Mbaye.
GOAL! Galatasaray 2-2 Juventus (Lang 49)
Galatasaray equalize early in the second half. Barış Alper Yılmaz delivers a lively low shot-cum-cross from a tight angle on the right. Michele Di Gregorio parries the ball but only sets up Noa Lang, who scores from close range. The stadium erupts.
Galatasaray 1-2 Juventus
The second half has commenced in Istanbul. Juventus have made a second substitution with Juan Cabal replacing Andrea Cambiaso, who was booked in the first half and will miss the second leg. Cambiaso’s involvement in this tie concludes here.
For completeness, the teamsheets from Ali Sami Yen Stadium are as follows. Federico Gatti replaced Bremer shortly after the half-hour mark due to a hamstring injury sustained by the Brazilian defender.
Galatasaray: Cakir, Sallai, Sanchez, Bardakci, Jakobs, Torreira, Gabriel Sara, Baris Yilmaz, Yunus Akgun, Lang, Osimhen.
Subs: Sen, Guvenc, Icardi, Sane, Elmali, Gundogan, Kutucu, Asprilla, Ayhan, Singo, Boey.
Juventus: Di Gregorio, Kalulu Kyatengwa, Bremer, Kelly, Cambiaso, Thuram, Locatelli, Koopmeiners, Francisco Conceicao, Yildiz, McKennie.
Subs: Perin, Pinsoglio, Gatti, Zhegrova, Boga, Adzic, Kostic, Openda, Miretti, Cabal.
HALF TIME: Galatasaray 1-2 Juventus
The early kick-off at Ali Sami Yen Stadium in Istanbul has reached half-time. Gabriel Sara opened the scoring for Galatasaray on 15 minutes with a precise finish into the bottom left corner from the edge of the box. Juventus responded immediately, with Teun Koopmeiners scoring from close range after Uğurcan Çakır parried a header from Pierre Kalulu. Koopmeiners then scored a spectacular goal on 32 minutes, combining with Weston McKennie before striking into the top-left corner from distance. Roland Sallai missed a good chance to equalize for Galatasaray just before the break. The match has been eventful and entertaining.
The marquee fixture of the evening is Benfica versus Real Madrid. The unusual antics reminiscent of Keith Houchen by Anatoliy Trubin have added intrigue to the encounter.
It is notable that these two historic clubs, with a rich European Cup legacy having won the first seven editions between them, had only met twice before last month’s match. Benfica triumphed 5-3 in the 1962 final and eliminated Real Madrid 6-3 on aggregate in the 1964-65 quarter-finals. Eusébio scored five goals across those three matches. Overall, Benfica have won three of the four meetings, outscoring Real Madrid 15-8. Real Madrid have rarely been so frequently bested by any other European club. While not quite matching Dundee United’s perfect record against Barcelona, it remains a remarkable statistic.
This evening marks the first legs of the play-off round, promising exciting football. There are three matches kicking off at 8pm, plus one earlier match already underway and approaching half-time.
With no delay, the action is underway.
