The Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain overcame a terrible start and a two-goal deficit to beat 10-man Monaco 3-2 in the first leg of their playoff tie. Désiré Doué came off the bench to engineer an impressive turnaround for PSG, who conceded a goal in the opening minute and were 2-0 down after 18 minutes as Folarin Balogun grabbed a double for the hosts.
The 20-year-old Doué replaced the Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé, who went off injured after 27 minutes, and proved decisive for the visitors as he struck two superb goals and set up one for Achraf Hakimi.
Monaco spent most of the second half down to 10 men after Aleksandr Golovin was shown a red card for a studs-up tackle that raked down the shin of Vitinha with the referee, Jesús Gil Manzano, upgrading his original caution to a sending off after consulting the touchline screen.
PSG are now in an advantageous position for the return leg in Paris next Wednesday as they look to progress to next month’s last 16. However, the European champions were in all sorts of trouble after 56 seconds when Nuno Mendes had a stray crossfield pass cut out in midfield, handing Monaco a first attack with Golovin chipping for Balogun to head home from close range.
Balogun outsprinted Marquinhos to double Monaco’s lead, before Wout Faes pulled back Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to give away a 22nd-minute penalty. However Vitinha’s effort was saved by Philipp Köhn.
Yet the tie swung as Doué came on and scored with his first touch in the 29th minute after being teed up by Bradley Barcola. Doué’s rifling shot in the 41st minute was parried away by Köhn, but Hakimi reacted quickly to pounce on the rebound and make it 2-2 before the break.
Golovin’s dismissal in the 48th minute left Monaco on the back foot as the visitors then dominated proceedings and should have had more than just the 67th-minute winner from Doué; another superbly struck shot that flew into the goal from the edge of the penalty area.
Galatasaray delivered a dominant performance to dismantle 10-man Juventus 5-2 in the first leg of their playoff, with Noa Lang and Gabriel Sara starring in a scintillating display.
The hosts took the lead in the 15th minute when the Brazilian Sara struck a thunderous long-range shot that left Michele Di Gregorio with no chance. However, Juventus equalised almost instantly when Teun Koopmeiners reacted quickly after Pierre Kalulu’s header was saved by Ugurcan Cakir, converting the rebound in the 16th minute.
The Italians edged ahead in the 32nd minute as Koopmeiners doubled his tally with a driven shot from outside the box after Weston McKennie found him. Galatasaray equalised just after the break when Lang slotted home a rebound from Baris Alper Yilmaz’s effort. The Turkish side then regained the lead on the hour mark as Davinson Sánchez turned in a precise Sara set piece.
Juventus’s troubles mounted in the 67th minute when the substitute Juan Cabal was shown a second yellow card, for a reckless challenge, leaving his side to play the remainder of the match with 10 men.
Galatasaray capitalised on the numerical advantage and increased their lead in the 75th minute. Victor Osimhen produced a sublime assist, threading the ball to Lang. The Dutch winger expertly fired a right-footed shot from the centre of the box, leaving Di Gregorio rooted to the spot.
The home side added a fifth in the 86th minute. Osimhen created another chance, setting up the substitute Sacha Boey, who smashed a fierce shot to seal a resounding victory.
Serhou Guirassy scored one goal and created another as hosts Borussia Dortmund claimed a 2-0 victory over Italian visitors Atalanta in the first leg of their playoff tie. The match kicked off 15 minutes late as the Dortmund team bus was caught in traffic, but they were fast out of the blocks as the striker Guirassy put the home side in front inside three minutes with a header at the back post.
Dortmund doubled their advantage in the 42nd minute via Max Beier after he was teed up by Guirassy in a deserved victory for the German side, with Atalanta offering little in the way of a goal threat.
The return leg will be played in Bergamo next Wednesday, with the winners to meet either Arsenal or Bayern Munich in the last 16.
