Sid Lowe was in Lisbon tonight, and here’s his report. Thanks for reading this Clockwatch.
José Mourinho talks to Amazon Prime. “The goal should be the top, crazy moment of game … an amazing goal … this talent is able to do beautiful things … but he was not just happy to score that astonishing goal and the game was over.”
Does he believe Vinícius Júnior incited the crowd? “Yes, I believe so … there is something wrong, it happens in every stadium … the stadium where Vinícius Júnior plays, something happens, always.”
As for the exchange of words between Vinícius Júnior and Gianluca Prestianni: “Words were exchanged … I want to be independent … I don’t want to say I believe in Prestianni or believe in Vinícius … i want to be independent … I don’t want to comment … [Prestianni] denies it … I don’t want to believe one or another … they told me different things … I want to be independent.”
What did he say to Vinícius Júnior during the break in play? “I told him when you score a goal like that you have to celebrate in a respectful way … walk back … the biggest person in the history of this club was black [Eusébio] … the last thing [Benfica] is, is racist … this is Benfica.”
As for his red card: “I told the referee the truth, and they don’t like the truth.”
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Trent Alexander-Arnold made it pretty clear then that Vinícius Júnior’s complaint to the referee was over something said to him by Gianluca Prestianni … and that is further confirmed by the comments of Real boss Álvaro Arbeloa, who speaks to Amazon Prime: “You will have to ask Benfica’s players [what happened] … everyone can see what happened with Prestianni ... he put his shirt over his mouth … now you have to ask him … we support Vini … now you have to ask Prestianni … we have to fight against this type of attitude … it is not my decision … it’s a problem … especially the footballers … if we don’t respect each other it is very difficult … Vini wanted to play and continue … we fight until the end … we have to perform [in the second leg] as well as we did tonight … we need to think about winning the next game and that is all.”
In addition, if the line of questioning by Amazon’s Gabriel Clarke was anything to go by, words were exchanged between representatives of both teams in the tunnel after the match.
Trent Alexander-Arnold speaks to Amazon Prime. “I can’t comment too much … there will be an ongoing investigation … not sure I can comment … what’s happened tonight is a disgrace to football … overshadowed our performance … [Vinícius Júnior] has been subjected to this a few times in his career … it’s a disgrace … there’s no place for it in football or society … disgusting … obviously it’s upsetting … we come here to do a job .. we enjoy what we do .. it ruins the night for all of us … we stick together as a team … we dug deep … we’re all proud of the way we handled it in a hostile environment … it didn’t affect us … I don’t know if Vini took persuading to come back on … he wanted to carry on … he’s got a very strong mentality … for it to happen tonight is a disgrace to football … it’s a hostile environment … passionate … [the Benfica fans] were clearly upset with the way Vini celebrated … I’m not sure what set them off like that … the referee said whatever [Gianluca Prestianni] did say with his shirt over his mouth so it’s difficult.”
It would be nice to round up this evening’s action as a fun tale of two contrasting substitute appearances. Désiré Doué came on to turn around a two-goal deficit for PSG at Monaco; Juan Cabal’s hapless 21-minute cameo for Juventus almost single-handedly saw Juve’s 2-1 half-time lead wiped out in spectacularly farcical style. But the evening will be chiefly remembered for the abuse suffered by Vinícius Júnior upon scoring a belter for Real Madrid. Incredibly unpleasant scenes in Lisbon, and focus will now be trained on Benfica as Uefa work out exactly who said what. It’s already clear, though, that Vinícius Júnior was extremely angry and upset as he informed the referee of events, and that many missiles were launched onto the pitch from the stands. Such a grim, depressing, spirit-sapping evening.
The full-time scores
Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid
Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Atalanta
Galatasaray 5-2 Juventus
Monaco 2-3 PSG
FULL TIME: Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Atalanta
The 1997 champions take a big step towards the last 16.
Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Atalanta. Three minutes left of this footnote to the evening. Like BVB, who have been quietly efficient tonight, will care about that status.
FULL TIME: Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid
Thank goodness that’s over. Vinícius Júnior’s genius overshadowed by abuse and projectiles sent in his direction.
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Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid. … but then things take a turn again as Vinícius Júnior prepares to take a corner. With abuse from the fans ringing in his ears, more missiles pour down from the stand. Then a bottle of water hits Vinícius Júnior. This is dismal stuff. Some people purporting to love Benfica have disgraced themselves tonight.
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Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid. An exchange of words between Vinícius Júnior and Nicolás Otamendi. Thankfully this one appears to be friendly, the pair smiling and laughing. Lovely to see after what’s gone before. A shaft of light in the murk.
Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid. Real play some keep-ball, which irritates the home crowd no end. Strip away the unpleasantness surrounding this second half, and it’s been a fine away performance by Real Madrid, who have struggled on the road in Europe once or twice this season.
FULL TIME: Monaco 2-3 PSG
The defending champions were a rabble for the first 18 minutes of this match. Then Désiré Doué happened.
Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid. As Trent Alexander-Arnold prepares to send in a corner, a missile is thrown onto the pitch. Aurélien Tchouaméni hands it to the referee. It’s been a grim second half.
Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid. Georgiy Sudakov is booked for … there’s not really another way to describe this … toe-punting Vinícius Júnior up the arse in the comic-book style. Not a great deal of subtlety in that.
Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid. Unsurprisingly, given the long break for the abuse directed at Vinícius Júnior, there will be 12 additional minutes in Lisbon.
Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid. Sidny Lopes Cabral aims the free kick towards the top right. The ball deflects off Álvaro Carreras and nearly loops into the top-left corner, Thibaut Courtois wrong-footed and helpless. But the ball nestles on the top of the net. Nothing comes from the resulting corner. “Like most neutrals, rooting for the underdog comes naturally to me, especially when the overdog is a superclub,” writes Kári Tulinius. “But it’s hard not to want Real Madrid to smash Benfica now.”
RED CARD: Mourinho (Benfica)
Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid. Richard Ríos, just to the right of the Real D, lines up a shot. As he cocks his leg back, it’s clipped by Vinícius Júnior. A free kick. José Mourinho isn’t happy, and rails at the assistant referee. The actual referee comes across to book the Benfica manager. José continues to tell it as he sees it, and receives a second yellow. He storms off into the stand, from where he’ll watch the rest of this tie.
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Monaco 2-3 PSG. Bradley Barcola nearly puts the result beyond doubt by breaking clear down the inside-left channel. He takes aim for the bottom left. The ball squirts through Philipp Köhn’s legs, but the keeper does enough to deflect the ball wide of the post. Nothing comes from the resulting corner.
Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid. Sidny Lopes Cabral launches a rare counter, steaming down the middle before blazing wildly over.
Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid. Vinícius Júnior remains a constant threat. He races in again from his beat on the left and powers a shot towards the bottom right. Anatoliy Trubin batters the ball away with a strong arm.
Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid. Gianluca Prestianni races into the Madrid box from the right. Eduardo Camavinga in hot pursuit. Prestianni feels a light hand on his back, and goes over in the penalty-seeking style. All he finds is a yellow card for simulation.
Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Atalanta. It’s the same old story for Atalanta in the second half. They’re not troubling their hosts at all.
Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid. Other than one mazy run down the left from Andreas Schjelderup that forced Thibaut Courtois into flapping away a cross, Benfica haven’t responded to falling behind. That unpleasant brouhaha won’t have helped them. They’ve been thoroughly second best tonight, pretty much since the get-go.
Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid. Vinícius Júnior again, another ball-glued-to-foot dribble down the left. He tries to surprise Anatoliy Trubin with a poke towards the near corner. The keeper blocks. Nothing comes of the resulting corner. “And just like that, a darkness has fallen over the Estádio da Luz,” observes Peter Oh. “Such a bloody shame. So unnecessary.”
Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid. Vinícius Júnior, fuelled by righteous fury, sashays elegantly in from the left. First he tries to find Kylian Mbappé on the penalty spot with a caressed wedge of a pass. When that doesn’t come off, he recovers possession and whacks a first-time shot towards the bottom left. Anatoliy Trubin saves well.
GOAL! Monaco 2-3 PSG (Doué 67)
The Désiré Doué supersub story continues apace. He nudges himself into a little space, just left of centre in the Monaco box, before pinging an unstoppable low drive into the bottom right. PSG complete the turnabout!
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Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid. A slightly surreal atmosphere settles over the Estádio da Luz. A sense that something has gone badly wrong. Fans whistling Vinícius Júnior whenever he takes up possession.
Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid. Vinícius Júnior considered walking off. Indeed he sat in the dugout for a while, in an attempt to gather his thoughts. Hats off to him for coming back on, but you couldn’t blame him if he didn’t bother.
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Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid. The game restarts after a ten-minute hiatus. There will be repercussions. An inquiry. So sad that Vinícius Júnior’s world-class goal has been overshadowed by some possibly dreadful abuse. José Mourinho looks genuinely dejected over whatever has happened here.
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Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid. One of the Benfica staff is shown a red card. José Mourinho comes onto the field to throw an arm around Vinícius Júnior, who is extremely animated and unhappy. Words have definitely been exchanged between the striker and Gianluca Prestianni, who was muttering with his mouth covered. Vinícius Júnior “desperately upset” according to Gabriel Clarke on Amazon Prime. This is awfully sad. The referee trying his best to restore order – the game has been stopped for nine minutes now – but Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé are raging.
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Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid. It all kicks off in a rather undignified style. It’s not clear what has happened here. Vinícius Júnior is railing at Gianluca Prestianni, who returns a verbal volley with his shirt pulled up over his mouth. Pointing and accusations. A lot of players getting involved. The referee, following protocols to deal with abuse, stops the game. Both benches empty.
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Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid. Vinícius Júnior then blots his copybook by dancing in front of the Benfica fans. He’s booked for unsportsmanlike behaviour. But then some missiles come down from the stands. Vinícius Júnior isn’t happy at all. There may have been some extremely unpleasant abuse directed at the Real striker.
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GOAL! Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid (Vinícius Júnior 50)
A peach of a goal from Vinícius Júnior, who cuts in from the left and power-curls a beauty into the top right!
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RED CARD: Aleksandr Golovin (Monaco)
Monaco 2-2 PSG. Aleksandr Golovin competes for a loose ball with Vitinha. He sticks out a leg and rakes his studs down Vitinha’s shin. So much so that his studs snag plenty of loose sock. Just an on-field yellow, but VAR gets involved and the decision is correctly upgraded. A terrible challenge.
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Benfica 0-0 Real Madrid. We’re off again in Lisbon. And it’s not long before Vangelis Pavlidis is going over Antonio Rüdiger’s leg on the edge of the box. He wants a penalty but he’s not getting one. All very threatrical. Meanwhile here’s Simon McMahon: “This Champions League malarkey is all well and good, Scott, but let’s not forget the real football, and in particular the romance of the Scottish Cup round of 16, where Dundee United, despite being reduced to ten men early on after a straight red card for Iorie Iovu, have taken a shock lead against Spartans of Scottish League Two at Tannadice, captain Ross Graham, aka the Blairgowrie Maldini, getting the goal. The winners are away to Falkirk in the quarter finals, and if that doesn’t get your heart racing, then I’m afraid I can’t help you.”
HALF TIME: Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Atalanta
Dortmund bookended the half with goals. In between, Atalanta didn’t carry any threat at all.
Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Atalanta. Incidentally, when Serhou Guirassy scored earlier, he revealed a t-shirt that paid tribute to his late granny. “Qu’il t’accueil dans son vaste paradis.” (“May He welcome you into His vast paradise.”) A touching moment of pure love.
GOAL! Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Atalanta (Beier 42)
Borussia Dortmund double their lead! Serhou Guirassy, scorer of the opener, turns provider, tearing off down the left and curling in a low cross for Max Beier, who can’t miss from a couple of yards. He nearly did, mind, but adjusted his feet just in time to clank home.
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Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Atalanta. We’re still going in Germany, the kick-off having been delayed by a quarter of an hour. Still going, but there’s nothing much going on.
HALF TIME: Monaco 2-2 PSG
The holders were two down after 18 minutes. Then Luis Enrique had a brainwave, on came Désiré Doué, and here we all are.
HALF TIME: Benfica 0-0 Real Madrid
Real Madrid, and Kylian Mbappé, have done everything but score.
Monaco 2-2 PSG. Monaco also need to hear the whistle for the break. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ripples the side netting from a tight position on the right.
Benfica 0-0 Real Madrid. Real are well on top. Kylian Mbappé cuts in from the right but scuffs his shot a little, allowing Anatoliy Trubin to parry. Then Mbappé dinks a pass down the inside-right for Vinícius Júnior, whose snapshot is deflected wide right. And finally Arda Güler aims a power-curler towards the bottom left, but Trubin is equal to that as well! Benfica desperately need to hear the half-time whistle. José better have a stirring half-time soliloquy ready to go.
Monaco 2-2 PSG. A chance for Monaco to retake the lead in short order, but upon entering the box from the left, Simon Adingra slices a wild effort wide of the post.
GOAL! Monaco 2-2 PSG (Hakimi 41)
Désiré Doué cuts in from the left and pearls a shot towards the bottom right. Philipp Köhn parries well, but the rebound falls to Achraf Hakimi, who takes a touch and fires a low diagonal shot through the legs of Denis Zakaria and into the bottom left. The holders level after a torrid start. Désiré Doué: supersub. Luis Enrique: supermanager!
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Benfica 0-0 Real Madrid. Federico Valverde threads a clever pass down the right flank for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who whips a cross low into the mixer. Kylian Mbappé, sliding in, should connect from six yards, but gets in a muddle while adjusting his feet, and misses the ball altogether. Trent put that on a plate. After a slow start to his career in Spain, it’s beginning to happen.
Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Atalanta. … and it’s a similar story in Dortmund, where the visitors are enjoying a good spell. Nicola Zalewski makes good down the left and whistles a low cross through the BVB six-yard box. But there’s nobody in Atalanta’s second-choice white to tap home.
Benfica 0-0 Real Madrid. The 15-time champions are pinning the two-time winners back. No way out for the hosts. No way through for the visitors, mind.
Monaco 2-1 PSG. There’s a VAR check for a possible foul earlier in the move. Doué himself with an arm across Vanderson on the halfway line. But there wasn’t much in it, and the referee isn’t having any of it. He points to the centre spot. The goal stands. The champs back in it!
GOAL! Monaco 2-1 PSG (Doué 29)
That Luis Enrique just may have a future as a manager, you know. He just might know what he’s doing. Less than couple of minutes after sending on Doué, he watches in delight as the winger enters the box down the left, chasing Bradley Barcola’s pass. Doué takes a touch before whipping a low shot across Philipp Köhn, off the base of the right-hand post, and in! What a switch! What a super-sub!
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Monaco 2-0 PSG. Luis Enrique’s response to his team’s horror start is to hook Ousmane Dembélé after 26 minutes. Dembélé doesn’t look injured. Désiré Doué comes on in his place.
Benfica 0-0 Real Madrid. While all that was going on, Real Madrid really should have taken the lead in Lisbon. Some good work down the right by Trent Alexander-Arnold found Vinícius Júnior on the penalty spot. Vinícius Júnior swivelled and pulled a low shot inches wide of the left-hand post. You’d have expected him to score.
Monaco 2-0 PSG. Incidentally, Faes was booked for his preposterous balls-up against Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, so it’s only going to take one more rush of blood to that well-upholstered noggin for the oft-slapstick defender to land his team into bother yet again. Odds on?
Monaco 2-0 PSG. Oh Wout. Oh Vitinha! The PSG midfielder aims the penalty towards the bottom left. Philipp Köhn reads the intent, getting down and parrying. Saved! Vitinha missing yet another penalty. He’s developed a poor habit here.
Monaco 2-0 PSG. … but almost immediately from the restart, a lifeline for the champions! Wout Faes lets the ball roll under his foot. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia makes off with it down the right. He enters the box. Faes, trying to make up for his egregious error, extends a leg across Kvaratskhelia and brings him down. A no-brainer of a penalty in more ways than one. Oh Wout.
GOAL! Monaco 2-0 PSG (Balogun 18)
A second for Folarin Balogun, who is sent scampering free down the inside-left channel, and whistles a low drive into the bottom left. Matvei Safonov in the PSG goal had no chance! What a start for the hosts in the Principality! The holders in all sorts of bother already.
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GOAL! Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Atalanta (Guirassy 20)
Julian Ryerson twists and turns down the right and dinks a cross into the centre. It’s a doozy from Ryerson. Serhou Guirassy rises high at the far stick and plants a downward header across Marco Carnesecchi and in!
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Monaco 1-0 PSG. João Neves challenges for the ball and sends it goalwards in the same motion. It only just squeaks over the bar. A few inches lower and that was in the top-left corner.
Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Atalanta. We are go! Better late than never in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Benfica 0-0 Real Madrid. The first corner of the evening is sent in from the right by Benfica. Tomás Araújo wins a header at the far post, and powers it goalwards, albeit straight at Thibaut Courtois.
Benfica 0-0 Real Madrid. Vinícius Júnior turns the jets on down the left. He can’t get round Amar Dedić, and the duel looks lost, but then Dedić falls over. Vinícius Júnior prepares to make off with the ball along the byline, a very dangerous proposition, but the referee blows for a very generous free kick. Vinícius Júnior is fuming, and no wonder, he’s got a point, but should probably refrain from wagging his finger in the referee’s face. Fortunately for the striker, the referee simply tells him to pipe down. Others may have booked him.
Monaco 1-0 PSG. Achraf Hakimi makes good down the right but his low cross is easily smothered by Philipp Köhn in the Monaco goal.
Benfica 0-0 Real Madrid. Real take the first shot in anger, Kylian Mbappé lashing low and hard towards the bottom left. Anatoliy Trubin, last month’s hero, gathers without too much fuss.
Benfica 0-0 Real Madrid. The visitors get hold of the ball and stroke it around awhile. A loud soundtrack of irritated whistling that’ll be music to Real’s ears.
Monaco 1-0 PSG. The reigning champions look to hit back immediately, Vitinha thinking about shooting from the edge of the D. He hesitates momentarily and the chance is gone. Then Bradley Barcola breaks down the left and cuts back for Ousmane Dembélé, who aims for the bottom right only to have his shot blocked by Wout Faes. PSG have been the better team for most of the first six minutes. Problem was, they were very much second best for the first 55 seconds.
Benfica 0-0 Real Madrid. Back in Lisbon, it’s all Benfica during the opening exchanges.
GOAL! Monaco 1-0 PSG (Balogun 1)
There are just 55 seconds on the clock when Aleksandr Golovin makes good down the left and dinks infield for Folarin Balogun, who can’t miss from six yards. With the PSG defence all over the shop, it really was as simple as that!
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Benfica 0-0 Real Madrid. The hosts are on the front foot immediately. Leandro Barreiro is clattered just to the right of the Real box. It’s sent into the mixer. Vangelis Pavlidis competes with Trent Alexander-Arnold, who half-clears. Gianluca Prestianni hoicks over from distance. Probably a bit early to send up Anatoliy Trubin, to be fair.
Borussia Dortmund v Atalanta. The kick-off at the Westfalenstadion has been delayed by 15 minutes. Non-stop action therefore guaranteed in this edition of Champions League Clockwatch.
Benfica v Real Madrid. Some good news for the hosts at the Estádio da Luz. The club mascot, Águia Vitória the bald eagle, has flown around the stadium and landed on the perch adorned by the club crest. That’s a sign of good things to come for Benfica, according to local lore. Let’s see. The curse of Béla Guttmann may or may not counter that particular stroke of luck.
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FULL TIME: Galatasaray 5-2 Juventus. After the whistle goes, Victor Osimhen throws a petulant tanty, moaning at a couple of his own team-mates, presumably narked at not getting on the scoresheet. Kind of embarrassing, though not as embarrassing as Juventus’s second-half no-show. Astonishing levels of defensive ineptitude, though the tin lid was put on the performance by Juan Cabal, whose 21-minute circus-inspired appearance was a fiasco for the ages. Subbed on at the break, he was nutmegged and caught out of position for 2-2; gave away the free kick that led to 3-2; nearly got himself sent off for laying hands on the referee; and finally got his marching orders after misjudging the flight of the ball, allowing himself to be inelegantly turned, and hauling down his man. Juve up against it to say the least. Gala with one foot and four toes in the last 16.
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FULL TIME: Galatasaray 5-2 Juventus
A scintillating second-half performance by Gala. By contrast, Juve, leading at the break, capitulated in embarrassing fashion.
Galatasaray 5-2 Juventus. This Juve implosion has been a debacle of monumental proportions. It could get even worse, too, as Victor Osimhen and then Sacha Boey take wild swipes from the edge of the box. But neither connect properly.
GOAL! Galatasaray 5-2 Juventus (Boey 86)
This one might be the best of the lot! Leroy Sané plays a ball into the Juve box down the right channel. Lloyd Kelly intercepts, but dilly-dallies, allowing Victor Osimhen to overpower him, steal the ball and nick it to the in-rushing Sacha Boey, who romps into the box, takes one touch, and launches a fierce drive across Michele Di Gregorio, off the left-hand post, and in. Lovely goal from an attacking point of view; more dismal Juve defending, though.
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Galatasaray 4-2 Juventus. Wilfried Singo tries his luck from the best part of 30 yards. Inches wide of the bottom-left corner. Michele Di Gregorio probably had it covered, but it was a mighty close-run thing.
Galatasaray 4-2 Juventus. Gala smell blood. They’re clearly not of a mind to settle for this. Mauro Icardi, formerly of Inter and with eight career goals against the Bianconeri in 14 appearances, comes on for Barış Alper Yılmaz, who is finally done with causing damage for the evening.
GOAL! Galatasaray 4-2 Juventus (Lang 75)
Juve have fallen apart. Khephren Thuram gives Lloyd Kelly a hospital pass in his own penalty area. Victor Osimhen takes it off the startled Kelly’s toe, poking it to Noa Lang, who is one on one with Michele Di Gregorio. The keeper spreads himself at Lang’s feet; Lang simply lifts the ball gently over him and into the net. This is an astonishing capitulation! Credit to Gala, though, for pressing and pressing and pressing.
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Galatasaray 3-2 Juventus. Luciano Spalletti may as well have kept on Andrea Cambiaso, who might have been treading the disciplinary tightrope himself, but was at least playing well. That 21-minute farce-tinged show from Cabal will go down as one of the great Champions League nightmares.
RED CARD: Cabal (Juventus)
The half-time substitute Juan Cabal has lasted just 21 minutes. He misjudges the flight of a long pass down the Gala right, allowing Barış Alper Yılmaz to spin him. He wrestles Yılmaz to the ground, and that’s a clear second yellow. So in the lead-up to Noa Lang’s equaliser, he was nutmegged then caught out of position as Yılmaz crossed; gave away the free kick that led to Sanchez’s goal; nearly got himself sent off for laying hands on the ref; and now this. One of the great fiasco-infused cameos.
Galatasaray 3-2 Juventus. This is absolutely top-notch entertainment in Istanbul. Juve come back at their hosts, Lloyd Kelly meeting a corner coming in long from the right by heading wide. A real sense of more goals in this game.
GOAL! Galatasaray 3-2 Juventus (Sanchez 60)
The free kick is just to the right of the Juve box. Gabriel Sara whips it in viciously. All Davinson Sánchez has to do is tickle the ball with his eyebrow to send it across Michele Di Gregorio and into the top left. He couldn’t miss! Sara put that on a plate, a world-class delivery. And the hosts respond to Juve’s turnaround with one of their own. What a match this is!
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Galatasaray 2-2 Juventus. Juan Cabal brings down Barış Alper Yılmaz, flying down the right, just to the side of the box. Cabal goes into the book, and nearly earns a second booking by pawing at the referee’s arm, Danny Makkelie telling him to get his hands off in angry fashion. And from the resulting free kick …
Galatasaray 2-2 Juventus. That was Noa Lang’s first goal for his new club, since joining Galatasaray on loan from Napoli, where the 26-year-old Dutch winger suffered an underwhelming few months since joining the Italian champions from PSV in the summer.
The 8pm teamsheets
Benfica: Trubin, Dedic, Tomas Araujo, Otamendi, Dahl, Barreiro, Aursnes, Prestianni, Rafa Silva, Schjelderup, Pavlidis.
Subs: Ferreira, Antonio Silva, Barrenechea, Bah, Bruma, Ivanovic, Sudakov, Lukebakio, Cabral, Manu, Rios, Anisio Cabral.
Real Madrid: Courtois, Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Huijsen, Carreras, Guler, Valverde, Tchouameni, Camavinga, Mbappe, Vinicius Junior.
Subs: Lunin, Carvajal, Alaba, Gonzalo Garcia, Ceballos, Francisco Garcia, Diaz, Mendy, Mastantuono, Cestero, Martinez, Pitarch.
Borussia Dortmund: Kobel, Reggiani, Anton, Bensebaini, Ryerson, Bellingham, Nmecha, Svensson, Beier, Brandt, Guirassy.
Subs: Ostrzinski, Meyer, Yan Couto, Ozcan, Chukwuemeka, Sabitzer, Silva, Adeyemi, Inacio, Kabar, Krevsun, Benkara.
Atalanta: Carnesecchi, Kossounou, Djimsiti, Kolasinac, Zappacosta, de Roon, Ederson Silva, Bernasconi, Pasalic, Zalewski, Scamacca.
Subs: Rossi, Sportiello, Hien, Bakker, Musah, Sulemana, Samardzic, Bellanova, Scalvini, Ahanor, Krstovic, Vavassori.
Monaco: Kohn, Vanderson, Teze, Faes, Henrique, Camara, Zakaria, Akliouche, Golovin, Adingra, Balogun.
Subs: Stawiecki , Lienard, Biereth, Idumbo-Muzambo, Bamba, Diatta, Coulibaly, Toure, Nibombe.
PSG: Safonov, Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes, Zaire Emery, Vitinha, Neves, Kvaratskhelia, Dembele, Barcola.
Subs: Chevalier, Marin, Lucas Beraldo, Zabarnyi, Goncalo Ramos, Doue, Lee, Hernandez, Fernandez, Mbaye.
GOAL! Galatasaray 2-2 Juventus (Lang 49)
Galatasaray haul themselves level early in the second half! Barış Alper Yılmaz hits a lively low shot-cum-cross from a tight angle on the right. Michele Di Gregorio parries, but can only tee up Noa Lang, who can’t miss from a couple of yards. Bedlam!
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Galatasaray 1-2 Juventus. The second half starts in Istanbul. Juve have made a second sub, Juan Cabal replacing Andrea Cambiaso. That’s the last we’ll see of Cambiaso in this tie, as he was booked in the first half and misses the second leg as a result.
For the completist, here are the teamsheets from the Ali Sami Yen. Federico Gatti came on for Bremer just after the half-hour mark, the Brazilian defender limping off with a hamstring issue.
Galatasaray: Cakir, Sallai, Sanchez, Bardakci, Jakobs, Torreira, Gabriel Sara, Baris Yilmaz, Yunus Akgun, Lang, Osimhen.
Subs: Sen, Guvenc, Icardi, Sane, Elmali, Gundogan, Kutucu, Asprilla, Ayhan, Singo, Boey.
Juventus: Di Gregorio, Kalulu Kyatengwa, Bremer, Kelly, Cambiaso, Thuram, Locatelli, Koopmeiners, Francisco Conceicao, Yildiz, McKennie.
Subs: Perin, Pinsoglio, Gatti, Zhegrova, Boga, Adzic, Kostic, Openda, Miretti, Cabal.
HALF TIME: Galatasaray 1-2 Juventus
The early kick-off at the Ali Sami Yen in Istanbul has reached the halfway mark. Gabriel Sara gave the hosts the lead on 15 minutes, slotting into the bottom left from the edge of the box. But Juve hit back immediately, Teun Koopmeiners slotting from close range after Uğurcan Çakır parried Pierre Kalulu’s header. Koopmeiners then completed the turnaround on 32 minutes with an absolute pearler, one-twoing into space down the middle with Weston McKennie, before roofing from distance into the top-left corner. Roland Sallai missed a good chance to equalise for Gala just before the break. So that’s been eventful.
The big game of the evening is undoubtedly Benfica v Real Madrid. The absurd Keith Houchen-channeling antics of Anatoliy Trubin have seen to that …
… though it’s low-level astonishing that these two famous old clubs, steeped in golden-age European Cup history having won the first seven stagings between them, had only ever met twice before last month’s match. Benfica won the 1962 final 5-3, then put Real out 6-3 on aggregate (5-1, 1-2) in the 1964-65 quarters. Eusébio helped himself to five goals over those three matches. All totted up, Benfica have won three and lost one, to the aggregate tune of 15-8. Not sure Real Madrid have had their trousers more frequently handed to them, freshly pressed and laundered, by any other club on the European scene. It’s not quite Dundee United’s genuinely side-splitting competitive hex on Barcelona (P4 W4) but it’s still something.
Preamble
It’s the first night of the first legs of the Champions League play-off round … and it promises to be a humdinger. We’ve got three kick-offs at 8pm …
Benfica v Real Madrid
Borussia Dortmund v Atalanta
Monaco v PSG
… plus one early match that’s already got going and is just about to reach half time …
Galatasaray v Juventus
… so more of that in a minute. No point hanging around. Let’s dive straight in. It’s on!
