Galatasaray crushed Juventus 5-2
The Turkish team has taken a decisive step towards reaching the Champions League round of 16, after beating a Juventus side that lost their composure in the second half.
Galatasaray stunned Juventus 5-2 in Istanbul on a magnificent night and... sees qualification to the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League.
Okan Buruk's team
punished the incredible mistakes of Juventus' defenders. Thus, they defeated them with an impressive
5-2 in a match that will remain etched in the memory of their Turkish fans for years and not only.
Şampiyonlar Ligi Play-Off Turu ilk maçında galibiyet bizim! 💪
— Galatasaray SK (@GalatasaraySK) February 17, 2026
Maç sonucu: Galatasaray 5-2 Juventus 👏 #GSvJUVE #UCL pic.twitter.com/uAQBuerqqk
The pace of the match was excellent from the first minutes. With the home team taking the lead in the 15th minute with a goal by Gabriel Sara (there had been successive errors in the Bianconeri defense). However, the answer came immediately from the guests, with the international Dutch winger, Teun Koopmeiners. Who equalized from close range a minute later. The same player also brought about the complete turnaround, nailing the ball into the net with an impressive shot in the 32nd minute!
The Turks were not deterred by the development of the match and early in the second half (49') they restored the balance with the Dutch winger, Noa Lang scoring from close range after an intervention by the Italian goalkeeper, Michele Di Gregorio. With the completion of one hour of the match, the turnaround came, with the Colombian stopper, Davinson Sanchez scoring with a header for 3-2 for Galatasaray. Which did not stop and seven minutes later secured a numerical advantage thanks to the expulsion of the defender, Juan Cabal! The Colombian had entered the game as a substitute for Andrea Cambiaso at the start of the second half. And ... he managed to get two yellow cards in a very short period of time (59', 67'), condemning his team to be left with 10 players!...
Playing with an extra player, the home team managed to reach a fourth goal, with Lang taking advantage of a disastrous mistake by the Italian defense and punishing it, making it 4-2 in the 75th minute. In the 86th minute, the icing on the cake came, with French full-back Sacha Boey, shaping the final result thanks to a mistake by the stopper, Kelly...
It is noted that Chim Bom became only the second team to score 5+ goals against Juventus in a European competition match (the first was the Austrian Wiener who had crushed the old lady 7-0 in Vienna in 1959), with the Bianconeri conceding so many goals for the first time in their first game in a European knockout pair. The then Austrian champions had a great day with Hammerl, who scored 4 goals, Hof two goals and Skerlan one.
However, the Austrian team, which was founded in 1883, has lost touch with success for decades, as serious financial problems brought it to the brink of collapse, resulting in it being essentially re-established a few years ago and participating in the Eastern group in the Regional League, namely the Third National League...
Okan Buruk’s side now have a commanding lead to take with them to Turin, and given they have now lost just one of their past seven H2H meetings with Juventus, they will be confident of getting the job done. The Old Lady, meanwhile, have won just one of their past six in all competitions and are staring a second consecutive play-off round exit in the face.

Manos Staramopoulos
Journalist and Analyst of International Football and Affairs
Chief Editor English Zone of Discoveryfootball.com
Athens (Greece)












