Paris Saint Germain had to work for it, but the reigning Champions League winners earned their 3-2 win over Monaco in Tuesday’s first playoff leg.
USMNT striker Folarin Balogun got Monaco off to a quick start, scoring 55 seconds into the match. He added to the host’s lead with another goal in the 18th minute to pass Christian Pulisic for goals (5) by an American in a single Champions League season.
Those good times wouldn’t last very long. After being subbed in for an injured Ousmane Dembélé in the 27th minute, PSG’s Désiré Doué scored two minutes later and Achraf Hakimi equalized in the 41st minute.
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Three minutes into the second half, Aleksandr Golovin put Monaco into a hole after getting a straight red card following a challenge on Vitinha. Doué, who hadn’t scored in the Champions League since October before Tuesday, recorded his brace with the go-ahead goal in the 67th minute.
Fellow title contenders Real Madrid topped Benfica 1-0 thanks to a beautiful Vinícius Júnior goal in the 50th minute.
There was a delay following the goal after Benfica players took exception to Vini Jr.’s goal celebration. During the skirmish, the Real Madrid forward notified referee François Letexier that an alleged racist remark was directed his way by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni. The game resumed 10 minutes later.
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Benfica manager and former Real Madrid boss José Mourinho was sent off late in the match and will miss the second leg at the Bernabéu.
Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund dispatched Atalanta 2-0 as Serhou Guirassy scored in the third minute and Maximilian Beier doubled the lead just before halftime. Galatasaray scored four times in the second half, including two from Noa Lang, during a 5-2 win over Juventus.
Despite the losing effort, USMNT’s Weston McKennie picked up his third assist in four days on Teun Koopmeiners’ second goal of the match.
Galatasaray has not reached the Champions League Round of 16 since 2014.
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Wednesday’s Champions League fixtures
12:45 p.m. ET: Qarabağ vs. Newcastle
3 p.m. ET: Bodø/Glimt vs. Inter Milan
3 p.m. ET: Club Brugge vs. Atlético Madrid
3 p.m. ET: Olympiacos vs. Bayer Leverkusen
Here’s how Tuesday’s knockout phase playoff action played out live:
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Sean Leahy
FT: Galatasaray 5-2 Juventus
FT: Monaco 2-3 PSG
FT: Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid
FT: Borussia Dortmund 2-0 AtalantaWednesday’s fixtures
12:45 p.m. ET: Qarabağ vs. Newcastle
3 p.m. ET: Bodø/Glimt vs. Inter Milan
3 p.m. ET: Club Brugge vs. Atlético Madrid
3 p.m. ET: Olympiacos vs. Bayer Leverkusen -
Sean Leahy
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Sean Leahy
The referee had a conversation with Gianluca Prestianni of Benfica and play will now resume in the 60th minute following a 10-minute delay.
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Sean Leahy
Vinícius Júnior appears to have told the match official that a racist remark was directed his way. He immediately ran to the referee and that has brought players and both benches on to the field as things are sorted out.
Vini Jr. remains seated on the Real Madrid bench as everyone tries to get the game in order.
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Sean Leahy
Vini cut in from the left side and curled a beautiful shot around Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin to break the deadlock.
The Real Madrid star would pick up a yellow card for excessive celebration following the goal.
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Sean Leahy
A VAR review determined that Aleksandr Golovin was worthy of a straight red card after catching Vitinha up high with his cleat.
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Sean Leahy
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Sean Leahy
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Sean Leahy
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Sean Leahy
Down 2-0 after 18 minutes, PSG is now level with Monaco after goals from Désiré Doué and Achraf Hakimi.
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Sean Leahy
Ousmane Dembélé left the match after picking up an injury. Doué wasted no time making an impact on the match.
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Sean Leahy
PSG had a chance to get on the board, but it wasn’t meant to be in the 22nd minute.
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Sean Leahy
The black and yellow needed only three minutes to grab the league against the Italian side thanks to Serhou Guirassy
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Sean Leahy
It’s been all Monaco in the first half against PSG, and that’s thanks to Folarin Balogun.
The USMNT striker opened the scoring 55 seconds into the match. He has added to that in the 18th minute to put the reigning champions against the ropes in the first leg.
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Sean Leahy
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Sean Leahy
The USMNT striker netted his fourth Champions League goal this season 55 seconds in against the Ligue 1 side.
Balogun now has three goals in his last five games against PSG.
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Sean Leahy
FT: Galatasaray 5-2 Juventus
1H: Monaco 0-0 PSG
1H: Benfica 0-0 Real Madrid
3:15 p.m. ET: Borussia Dortmund 0-0 AtalantaBorussia Dortmund-Atalanta has been delayed 15 minutes after Dortmund arrived late to the stadium.
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Sean Leahy
The Turkish side is control and has one foot in the Round of 16 following a 5-2 win in Tuesday’s first leg. Noa Lang recorded a brace as Galatasary scored four times in the second half.
The two sides will meet again next Wednesday at Allianz Stadium in Torino, Italy.
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Sean Leahy
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Sean Leahy
Minutes after Juan Cabal was shown a second yellow card, Noa Lang added his second goal of the match to put Galatasaray up 4-2 over Juventus.
Champions League playoffs results
FT: Galatasaray 5-2 Juventus
FT: Monaco 2-3 PSG
FT: Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid
FT: Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Atalanta
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