Nigerian international Victor Osimhen shone brilliantly as Turkish giants Galatasaray thrashed favourites Juventus 5-2 last night, Tuesday, February 17, 2026, in a frenetic first leg of their Champions League knockout phase play-off tie.
He was a constant threat to the visitors and, even though he was not on the scoresheet, provided an assist for the last goal netted by Sacha Boey in the 86th minute.
Gala will take a three-goal lead to Turin after coming from behind to beat Juve.
The hosts trailed 2-1 at half-time but produced a superb fightback to lead 3-2 by the hour mark through goals from Noa Lang and Davinson Sanchez.
That came after Juventus had launched an excellent response of their own to complete a 17-minute first-half turnaround, through Teun Koopmeiners’ double, after going behind to Gabriel Sara’s opener.
However, the second half went from bad to worse for the Serie A side.
Half-time substitute Juan Cabal received a second yellow card just 21 minutes after his introduction to leave Juventus a goal and a man down.
The Turkish champions were relentless in attempting to make their man advantage count.
Lang punished lax Juventus defending for his second on the night, before Sacha Boey added a late fifth to put Okan Buruk’s side in firm control of the tie.
The return leg takes place in Turin on Wednesday, 25th February (20:00 GMT). (Additional reports by BBC)
