Juventus miss UCL Round of 16 as They lose 1-0 to Galatasaray
Wesley Sneijder’s late winner in snowy Istanbul sent Galatasaray into the Champions League last 16 and knocked their visitors Juventus out as they restarted Tuesday’s abandoned tie, suspended because of snow, on a terrible surface completed.
Juventus have won their last seven league games without conceding a goal and knew a point would be enough to secure qualification, with Turkish side Galatasaray needing victory.
And, on a pitch that had been cut up by efforts to clear Tuesday night’s snow, the Serie A leaders looked to be heading into the knockout stages without too much drama, until Sneijder’s late intervention.
The sides’ final Group B clash at the Ali Sami Yen Stadium was stopped on Tuesday night with the scoreline 0-0, as increasingly heavy snowfall made playing conditions nearly impossible.
With the snow still falling and the pitch difficult to play on, both sides struggled to create too many clear-cut chances on Wednesday until Sneijder burst on to Drogba’s towering flicked header.
Running away from goal, the midfielder sent a low shot across goal, through a defender’s legs and into the bottom corner of the net to send the vocal home crowd into wild celebrations.
Juventus have to settle for a place in the Europa League after finishing third in the group.
