Sparta Prague dominates Galatasaray 4-1 to advance in Europa League
Sparta Prague decisively defeated Galatasaray 4-1 in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League playoffs, knocking the Turkish team out with a 6-4 aggregate score. The match took place at Letna Stadium in Prague on Thursday.
Angelo Preciado, Sparta Prague's defender, opened the scoring early by lobbing the ball over Galatasaray's goalkeeper Fernando Muslera in the eighth minute.
Galatasaray responded swiftly, leveling the score at 1-1 eight minutes later with a header from defender Abdulkerim Bardakci, capitalizing on a rebound off the post.
However, a potential goal by Sparta's Jan Kuchta was disallowed for offside by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in the 42nd minute.
The game turned against Galatasaray when defender Kaan Ayhan received a direct red card in the 68th minute after a VAR review for his challenge on Sparta's Lukas Haraslin.
Sparta capitalized on their numerical advantage, with Indrit Tuci heading in the second goal in the 74th minute shortly after coming on. Haraslin then extended the lead to 3-1 in the 80th minute, slipping the ball under Muslera.
Kuchta sealed the victory with a fourth goal in the 96th minute, breaking through for a one-on-one with the keeper.
The draw for the Round of 16 will take place on Friday.
Europa League Thursday Results:
Roma tied with Feyenoord 1-1 (Aggregate: 2-2, Roma wins 3-2 on penalties)
Sparta Prague overcame Galatasaray 4-1 (Aggregate: 6-4)
Olympique Marseille beat Shakhtar Donetsk 3-1 (Aggregate: 5-3)
Toulouse and Benfica drew 0-0 (Aggregate: 1-2)
Rennes lost to Milan 3-2 (Aggregate: 3-5)
Freiburg edged out Lens 3-2 (Aggregate: 3-2)
Qarabag fell to Braga 2-3 (Aggregate: 6-5)
Sporting Lisbon drew with Young Boys 1-1 (Aggregate: 4-2)
