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Galatasaray weathered a stunning Juventus fightback and struck twice in extra time to advance to the UEFA Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday, winning 7-5 on aggregate after a second leg at the Allianz Stadium that swung from heartbreak to euphoria and back again across 120 breathless minutes.
Victor Osimhen and Baris Alper Yilmaz scored in extra time to seal a 3-2 defeat on the night that was more than enough for the Turkish champions, who had carried a 5-2 first-leg advantage from Istanbul into a match that very nearly saw it vanish entirely. Ten-man Juventus had erased the three-goal aggregate deficit in regulation through goals from Manuel Locatelli, Federico Gatti and Weston McKennie, but Galatasaray's composure in the additional 30 minutes ultimately proved decisive.
The result sends Galatasaray into the Champions League last 16 for the first time since the 2013-14 season. They will face either Liverpool or Tottenham when the round of 16 draw takes place on February 27. For Juventus, it marks a second consecutive exit at the playoff stage after last season's elimination by PSV Eindhoven, deepening a continental decline for one of Europe's most storied clubs.
Juventus, missing suspended defenders Andrea Cambiaso and Juan Cabal as well as injured striker Dusan Vlahovic, came out swinging from the opening whistle under coach Luciano Spalletti, who had urged unity before kickoff. "There are games that are not so much played as composed," Spalletti said. "We know we're in a delicate predicament, but we ask the fans to stay with us because with them by our sides we are stronger."
The hosts created the first clear chance inside three minutes when Gatti headed over from close range off a Kenan Yildiz cross. Teun Koopmeiners missed a free header from a Francisco Conceicao delivery shortly after, and Yildiz twice forced saves from Galatasaray goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir. At the other end, Osimhen, booked early for a foul on McKennie, tested Mattia Perin from close range after being found by an Abdulkerim Bardakci header, but the Juventus goalkeeper held firm.
The breakthrough arrived in the 37th minute when Khephren Thuram drew a foul from Lucas Torreira inside the penalty area. Locatelli stepped up and sent Cakir the wrong way, slotting into the bottom right corner to cut the aggregate deficit to two. The first half ended 1-0 after four minutes of added time, much of it consumed by injury stoppages and a yellow card for Juventus reserve goalkeeper Carlo Pinsoglio.
The second half began with a moment that appeared to seal Juventus' fate. Lloyd Kelly, already cautioned for a first-half foul on Gabriel Sara, committed a challenge on Yilmaz moments after the restart. After a VAR review, the yellow card was upgraded to a straight red, reducing the hosts to 10 men with 45 minutes still to play.
Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk, who had declared before the match that his side needed to impose their game plan just as they had in Istanbul, sent on Leroy Sane and Sacha Boey to capitalize on the numerical advantage. What followed was a spell of sustained Turkish pressure. Osimhen tested Perin repeatedly, first with a header tipped over, then with efforts from the right side and from distance that the Italian goalkeeper parried away. Sara and Sane combined to create further openings, but Galatasaray could not find the goal that would have effectively killed the tie.
Instead, it was the 10-man hosts who struck. Gatti pounced from close range in the 70th minute after Kalulu's shot was blocked following a corner, with Bardakci unable to clear. The aggregate gap was suddenly down to one, and the Allianz Stadium roared to life.
Spalletti reshaped his attack in the 67th minute, withdrawing Conceicao and Jonathan David for Edon Zhegrova and Jeremie Boga. Yildiz rattled the right post in the 79th minute from Boga's cross, and three minutes later the comeback was complete. Koopmeiners headed a set piece across the six-yard box and McKennie, unmarked at the far post, powered a header into the bottom left corner to make it 3-0 and level the aggregate at 5-5.
Neither side could find a winner in five minutes of stoppage time, sending the tie to extra time.
The additional period began with Juventus still riding the wave of their comeback, and Zhegrova forced a save from Cakir from a difficult angle in the 110th minute. Boga fired over twice as the hosts threw everything forward.
But Galatasaray, who had demonstrated their ability to strike on the counterattack throughout the tie, delivered the decisive blow at the end of the first period of extra time. In the 105th minute plus added time, Yilmaz found Osimhen on the left side of the penalty area, and the Nigerian striker, who had been denied repeatedly by Perin throughout regulation, drilled a right-footed shot into the center of the goal to make it 3-1 and restore Galatasaray's aggregate lead at 6-5.
The goal forced Juventus to chase two more in the second period of extra time, now with a squad running on fumes after playing the majority of the match shorthanded. Spalletti introduced Filip Kostic and Lois Openda, the latter replacing the injured Kalulu, but the fresh legs could not conjure another miracle.
Instead, Galatasaray sealed their passage in the 119th minute when substitute Wilfried Singo played a through ball that Yilmaz, the 24-year-old Türkiye international, converted with a composed finish into the center of the goal. The aggregate moved to 7-5, and the remaining seconds were a formality.
For Galatasaray, the advancement represents a landmark moment in the club's modern European history. Their last appearance in the Champions League knockout rounds came in the 2013-14 campaign, when they reached the last 16 before falling to Chelsea. This season's run, built on a league phase that included victories over Liverpool and Bodo/Glimt and anchored by the prolific Osimhen, has reestablished the Istanbul club as a force on the continental stage.
Buruk, a former Galatasaray player who was part of the squad that won the UEFA Cup in 2000, can now add this achievement to an increasingly impressive managerial tenure. The tie showcased the depth of his squad, with substitutes Sane, Boey, Singo and Icardi all contributing across the two legs.
For Juventus, the defeat compounds a turbulent stretch that has included a 0-2 home loss to Como in Serie A last weekend and a run of form that has seen Spalletti's side win just once in their last six matches across all competitions. The two-time European champions have not reached the Champions League round of 16 since the 2021-22 season, and their second successive playoff-stage exit will intensify scrutiny on the club's direction.
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