First it was Juventus, and now Liverpool. Galatasaray is cutting a swath through European soccer's giants in the Champions League.
A 1-0 first-leg win in Istanbul on Tuesday gave the Turkish champion the advantage in this round-of-16 tie.
Mario Lemina's seventh-minute header secured the win for Galatasaray, which stunned Juventus with a 7-5 aggregate victory in the playoffs.
The second leg is at Anfield next Wednesday.
Galatasaray had chances to take
an even bigger lead to Merseyside, with Victor Osimhen's second-half strike ruled out for offside. Liverpool saw Ibrahima Konate's effort disallowed by VAR for handball.
Lemina headed the ball into the net in from close range after Osimhen headed goalward from a corner.
Barcelona was facing Newcastle in a later kickoff, with coach Hansi Flick leaving his players in no doubt about what's at stake.
“It’s one of the most important moments of the season and we are all ready for it,” he said.
Five-time European champion Barcelona hasn't won the Champions League since 2015 and has had to watch as its fiercest rival Real Madrid has dominated the competition.
Flick delivered the Spanish title last season, but his team was knocked out of the Champions League at the semifinals stage. He is aiming to improve on that this time around.
“What I can say is everything here in Barcelona is great," he said. "I’m here 1 1-2 years and I’m enjoying every single day working with this fantastic team, with these fantastic players, with this staff around.
“Now we are building this club also for the future. This is what we want to do."
Bayern Munich is away to Atalanta and Atletico Madrid hosts a Tottenham team that is fighting to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
