Galatasaray Stuns Juventus in Champions League Playoff First Leg

Galatasaray secured a commanding 5-2 victory over Juventus in the first leg of their Champions League playoff at Rams Park in Istanbul on Tuesday, February 17, 2026. The Turkish side now holds a significant advantage heading into the second leg in Turin.

Match Highlights

Gabriel Sara opened the scoring for Galatasaray in the 15th minute, but Juventus quickly responded with a brace from Teun Koopmeiners, who found the net in the 16th and 32nd minutes. However, Galatasaray rallied in the second half, scoring four unanswered goals.

Noa Lang leveled the score in the 49th minute and Davinson Sánchez gave Galatasaray the lead in the 60th minute. Juventus’ challenge was further hampered by the 67th-minute sending off of Juan Cabal, who received a second yellow card. Lang added his second goal of the match in the 74th minute, and Sacha Boey completed the rout with a goal in the 86th minute.

Key Statistics

Galatasaray’s five-goal performance marked a historic occasion, representing the first time the club has scored five goals in a Champions League match. Conversely, Juventus conceded five goals in a Champions League game for the first time ever.

The hosts demonstrated a clinical edge, recording 2.96 expected goals (xG) from 22 shots, compared to Juventus’ 1.13 xG from seven attempts ESPN.

Gabriel Sara had a standout performance for Galatasaray, registering the most shots (three), creating the most chances (seven), and completing the most passes (59). He became the first Galatasaray player to both score and assist in a Champions League knockout match since Wesley Sneijder in April 2013 against Real Madrid ESPN.

Looking Ahead

Galatasaray will travel to Turin next week for the second leg with a three-goal lead, aiming to secure their place in the round of 16 for the first time since 2014. Juventus faces a daunting task to overturn the deficit and avoid elimination from the Champions League UEFA.