Galatasaray delivered one of the most memorable European nights in their history with a stunning 5–2 comeback victory over Juventus in the first leg of their Champions League knockout playoff at RAMS Park on February 17, 2026.
Roared on by a deafening home crowd, the Turkish giants turned a tense first half into a second-half masterclass that left Juventus shell-shocked and Europe on notice.
The night belonged to Gabriel Sara. The midfielder was everywhere dictating the tempo, slicing Juventus open with clever passes, and leading the press.
He opened the scoring with a calm finish after a rare error from Bremer, later added an assist, and created chance after chance with seven key passes.
His all-action display earned him the UEFA Player of the Match award and summed up Galatasaray’s fearless approach as reported by Fabrizo romano via their x handle.
Gabriel Sara wins UEFA Man of the Match Award for Galatasaray-Juventus.
Although Juventus briefly threatened to spoil the party with Teun Koopmeiners’ first-half brace, Galatasaray emerged after the break with a completely different intensity.
Noa Lang flipped the game on its head with two brilliant goals, showing exactly why the club pushed hard to bring him in from Napoli in January.
Victor Osimhen, even without scoring, was devastating stretching the defence, bullying centre-backs, and supplying two assists that killed the tie’s momentum.
Goals from Davinson Sánchez and Sacha Boey capped a relentless second-half performance that Juventus simply couldn’t cope with, especially after Juan Cabal’s red card tilted the balance even further.
This performance also underlined how special this era is becoming for Galatasaray. The club is witnessing history from its foreign stars, with Mauro Icardi now the all-time top foreign goalscorer and Victor Osimhen smashing single-season records. Against Juventus, Osimhen again showed why he’s the heartbeat of this team even on nights he doesn’t score, he decides games.
Softfootball reported that Beyond the scoreline, the message was clear: Galatasaray are no longer just noisy underdogs in Europe they are a serious threat. The intensity, belief, and quality on display against Juventus suggest this team is built for big nights.
With the second leg still to come, Galatasaray will know the job isn’t finished, but after a performance like this, they’ve already sent a powerful warning across the continent.
