U.S. men’s national team midfielder Weston McKennie did his part in attempting to seal a heroic Champions League comeback for Juventus – only for the club to bow out of the competition in the knockout playoff stage to Galatasaray after extra time.
McKennie’s 82nd-minute header gave the 10-man hosts a 3-0 lead in Wednesday’s second leg at the Allianz stadium, and leveled the tie at 5-5 on aggregate, with the Turkish visitors carrying a 5-2 edge from the first leg. The goal forced 30 minutes of additional time, during which Victor Osimhen and Bariş Alper Yilmaz scored to secure Galatasaray’s place in the last 16 on a 7-5 aggregate scoreline.
The goal was McKennie’s fourth in this season’s Champions League and 11th in his career – he also assisted in the first leg in Istanbul last week – but his efforts were ultimately in vain. Juve’s initial comeback was even more impressive considering defender Lloyd Kelly was sent off on 48 minutes.
As for McKennie, the USMNT veteran has been in fine form for his club, amid speculation he is close to committing his future to a new deal in Turin, with seven goals and seven assists in all competitions this season. Ever the versatile performer, he was deployed at left back by manager Luciano Spalletti in a game the Serie A giants needed to win emphatically, but the 3-2 outcome on the night was not enough.
Even in elimination, McKennie made his mark in style on this season’s competition, with goals in three consecutive games in the league phase at one point before his back-post header from a Teun Koopmeiners cross on Wednesday.
WESTON MCKENNIE DOES IT AGAIN! 🇺🇸
Juventus overturn a three-goal deficit to complete the comeback in Turin 🤯 pic.twitter.com/PnVKw0C1FZ
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) February 25, 2026
Elsewhere, another USMNT player suffered a disappointing Champions League ending, as striker Folarin Balogun and his Monaco side were knocked out in their playoff round by reigning champion PSG.
Balogun, who had also been in top goalscoring form with his own streak of goals in three consecutive games, and five overall in the competition, started the second leg. The 24-year-old had scored two goals in the first leg, which Monaco lost 3-2, but was substituted on 74 minutes at Parc des Princes with his team trailing 2-1.
Monaco, which was also playing a man down after a red card to Mamadou Coulibaly, scored an equalizer in added time to make it 2-2 on the night but still went out 5-4 on aggregate.
It leaves three Americans remaining in UEFA’s elite club competition this term: Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Malik Tillman, Atlético Madrid’s Johnny Cardoso and Atalanta’s Yunus Musah, whose Italian side completed a comeback from 2-0 down in the first leg to Borussia Dortmund and won in dramatic fashion.
The draw for the subsequent stages will be held Friday.