Juventus Eliminated, Atalanta Remains as Italy's Sole Representative

Thu, 26 Feb 2026, 14:56 WIB | By Irvan Sihombing | Source: MEDIA_INDONESIA | Sports

Juventus’ journey in the Champions League came to an end in the playoff round, despite winning 3-2 against Galatasaray at the Allianz Stadium, Turin, in the second leg on Thursday (26/2) WIB. Although they won, Juve were eliminated due to losing 7-5 on aggregate. With this result, Atalanta is the only Serie A club remaining in the elite European competition.

Galatasaray advanced to the round of 16 for the first time since 2014. They will face Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur in the next round.

Juventus actually raised hopes when Manuel Locatelli scored a penalty in the 37th minute.

However, the situation changed after the break. Defender Lloyd Kelly was sent off by referee Joao Pinheiro after a VAR review showed he committed a serious foul by landing with his studs on Baris Yilmaz’s Achilles.

Kelly initially thought he had only received a second yellow card. That decision was overturned, but the referee instead gave him a straight red card.

“Regardless, our response was extraordinary. Unfortunately, we ran out of energy as we entered extra time. It’s disappointing because the Champions League is the best competition,” said Juve player, Federico Gatti.

Playing with 10 men did not make Juventus give up. Gatti narrowed the gap 20 minutes from the end of normal time, before Weston McKennie headed in to equalize the aggregate score 12 minutes later.

However, the momentum did not last long. In extra time, Victor Osimhen took advantage of a golden opportunity to put Galatasaray back in the lead. Baris Yilmaz then scored the decisive goal that ended Juventus’ hopes of forcing a penalty shootout.

Despite being eliminated, Juventus received applause from their supporters for their fighting spirit. Their focus now shifts to Serie A. The Old Lady is in fifth place in the standings.

(AFP/I-1)

Juventus were eliminated from the Champions League despite winning 3-2 against Galatasaray. See the emotional expressions of Manuel Locatelli who admitted he wanted to cry after the match.

See the complete list of 16 teams that qualified for the round of 16 of the 2025/2026 Champions League, including the surprises of Bodo/Glimt and the dominance of English clubs.

A Real Madrid supporter who allegedly performed a Nazi salute was expelled from the stadium before the Champions League match between Madrid and Benfica, at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Thursday (26/2) early morning.

AFTER securing a ticket to the round of 16 of the Champions League, after winning the Madrid vs Benfica match 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Thursday (26/2), Los Blancos will face Sporting CP

VINICUS Junior led Los Blancos to victory in the Real Madrid vs Benfica match with a score of 2-1 at the Bernabeu, 3-1, Wednesday (25/2) and advanced to the round of 16 of the Champions League.

Atalanta advanced to the knockout stages of the Champions League thanks to an aggregate victory of 4-3 after losing 2-0 in the first leg at Borussia Dortmund’s home.

Now, the last hope of Serie A rests on Juventus and Atalanta who must fight to overturn the goal deficit.

Atalanta hosts Borussia Dortmund in Bergamo in the second leg of the 2026 Champions League playoff. Can La Dea overturn the two-goal deficit?

In that match, Atalanta lost through goals from Serhou Guirassy and Maximilian Beier. This result extended La Dea’s negative trend in European competitions this season.

The addition of three points thanks to the victory over Napoli cemented Atalanta’s position in seventh place in the Serie A standings with 45 points from 26 matches.

View JSON | Print