Turin was besieged with Juventus fans as they gathered in hordes to back their team to muster a massive turnaround, and which almost happened. The deficit was a bit too much to scale and though a flicker of hope appeared, Galatasaray just nipped it in the end.
Down 2-5 after a mauling in Istanbul a week ago, Juventus, for whom Galatasaray have always been tricky opponents, had a tall order in front of them, but the Italians responded with bravado and took the fight to the opposition camp.
Locatelli, Gatti and then Mckennie scored to bring Juventus on level terms and pushed the match into extra time. Had it not been for some stellar goalkeeping from Çakir, Juventus might have grabbed the contest for good. However, there was still hope, but then, Galatasaray destroyed it.
Victor Osimhen, the brilliant Nigerian and then Baris Yilmaz, produced two instances of great composure and sublime finishing to win it for Galatasaray 7-5 on aggregate, in extra time. The fans who were jumping up and down when Juventus scored the third goal, almost pulling down the stadium, went into a painful silence.
There were no over the top celebrations from Galatasaray, as a sense of satisfaction appeared on their demeanor. They had escaped a team which was fighting hard and giving their every bit to turn the tables on them.
Spalleti, Juventus’ Manager had a disappointed look on his face, but he knew that his team had fought bravely and were going out of the competition with their heads held high. Buruk, the Galatasaray Manager was thrilled to bits as he hugged his team and players.
The Turks, eventually made it to the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, and survived to fight another day.
What a match in Turin!!