Juventus captain felt like crying after Champions League comeback falls short against Galatasaray

By: The Associated Press Posted: 5:50 PM CST Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026

TURIN, Italy (AP) — Juventus captain Manuel Locatelli felt like crying after seeing his team’s remarkable Champions League fightback fall just short against Galatasaray on Wednesday.

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TURIN, Italy (AP) — Juventus captain Manuel Locatelli felt like crying after seeing his team’s remarkable Champions League fightback fall just short against Galatasaray on Wednesday.

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This article was published 25/02/2026 (222 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TURIN, Italy (AP) — Juventus captain Manuel Locatelli felt like crying after seeing his team’s remarkable Champions League fightback fall just short against Galatasaray on Wednesday.

Trailing 5-2 after the first leg, Juventus went 3-0 up in the return match — despite playing almost the entire second half with 10 men following Lloyd Kelly’s sending-off — to take the game to extra time.

Galatasaray scored twice in extra time to lose 3-2 on the night but win 7-5 on aggregate.

Juventus player react after Galatasaray's Baris Yilmaz their second goal during extra time in a Champions League soccer match between Juventus and Galatasaray, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Turin, Italy (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

Juventus fans applauded their team after the match despite getting eliminated.

“It almost makes me want to cry for how much we believed,” Locatelli said. “I think we gave our heart — and more.”

“These are the kinds of matches,” he added, “that stay with you.”

Juventus defender Federico Gatti, who scored the team’s second goal, felt the qualification was thrown away last week.

“It’s frustrating because we reached extra time a bit drained,” he said. “We had really put the game back on track, but I’ll say it again — we let it slip in the first leg. A tie like this simply can’t end that way.”