Osimhen leads Galatasaray into Champions League round of 16, Real Madrid, PSG also advance

Victor Osimhen’s extra-time goal guided Galatasaray into the round of 16 stage of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 16 years.

Despite losing 3-2 on the night, a 7-5 aggregate win over Juventus pushed Galatasaray to the next stage.

The Turkish champions surrendered their three-goal advantage to Juventus who scored two goals despite playing with ten men to level the tie, before Osimhen crushed the Old Lady of Turin’s hearts with his well-taken 17th UCL goal.

Baris Yilmaz added a second a minute before end of extra time.

Osimhen, starved of service most of the night, finally made the most of a pass, controlling the ball before sending his effort through the goalkeeper’s legs for the all-important goal that broke Juve’s fighting spirit.

Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain have also advanced into the round of 16. The last two UCL champions came from a goal down to seal their passage; Real Madrid defeated Benfica 2-1 to progress 3-1 on aggregate, while PSG won by same scoreline to defeat 10-man Monaco 5-3 on aggregate in Paris.

Madrid’s match was dominated by the alleged racial abuse suffered by Vinicius Jr., and it was the Brazilian winger who made the difference for the 15-time UCL champions with the winner ten minutes from time, after Aurelien Tchouameni had cancelled Rafa Silva’s composed finish that briefly put Benfica ahead.

Atalanta also made it to the last 16, overcoming a 2-0 first leg deficit with a 4-1 victory over Borussia Dotrtmund in Italy. The Bergamo club needed Lazar Samardzic’s penalty converted in the final minutes of added time to send Dortmund crashing out.

RESULTS

Real Madrid 2-1 Benfica (Real Madrid win tie 3-2 on aggregate)

Atalanta 4-1 Borussia Dortmund (Atalanta win tie 4-3 on aggregate)

Paris Saint-Germain 2-2 AS Monaco (PSG win tie 5-4 on aggregate)

Juventus 3-2 Galatasaray (Galatasaray win tie 7-5 on aggregate) (Daily Trust)