Liverpool was beaten 1-0 by Galatasaray in the first leg of its Champions League round of 16 tie in Istanbul on Tuesday; Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch picked up yellow cards and face missing a potential quarterfinal
Paul Wheelock Head of sport
13:31, 12 Mar 2026
Virgil van Dijk is in danger of picking up a suspension
Virgil van Dijk is in danger of picking up a suspension(Image: Getty Images)
Liverpool has left itself with a task to keep its Champions League aspirations afloat after suffering a 1-0 defeat in the round of 16 first-leg tie at Galatasaray on Tuesday.
Mario Lemina's header in the seventh minute was the deciding factor between the teams in Istanbul, setting the stage for next Wednesday's second leg at Anfield. It was a triumphant day for Galatasaray, which celebrated its second Champions League victory over the Reds this season, having previously secured a 1-0 win at the same venue during the league phase in September.
Galatasaray will take heart from the fact that Liverpool hasn't clinched a knockout tie on home turf since April 2022. However, Galatasaray will journey to Merseyside without any fans following a ban by UEFA.
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The Turkish team's supporters were accused of throwing objects and igniting fireworks during the knockout phase playoff tie against Juventus in Turin on February 25. On the pitch, Okan Buruk's team will also be missing one of its key players, former Tottenham center-back Davinson Sanchez, after he received a booking in injury-time for a foul on Hugo Ekitike in Tuesday's first leg.
Sanchez's third booking of this season's tournament means he will miss the second leg, as Champions League regulations stipulate that any player who accumulates three yellow cards — or any subsequent odd number of cautions — from the league stage onwards is suspended for the next match.
The Reds won't have any players sidelined through suspension. However, Tuesday's bookings for skipper Virgil van Dijk and fellow Dutchman Ryan Gravenberch mean they join Curtis Jones in treading a disciplinary tightrope.
Van Dijk is Liverpool's captain
Van Dijk is Liverpool's captain(Image: Getty Images)
All three players now carry two bookings in the Champions League, and should they pick up another in the second leg against Galatasaray, they would be absent for the first leg of a potential quarterfinal clash with either Chelsea or reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain.
An amnesty only comes into effect after the completion of the quarterfinals, when all yellow card totals are wiped clean.
Galatasaray currently has six fit and available players carrying two bookings each. Goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir, defenders Ismail Jackobs and Abdulkerim Bardakci, and forwards Roland Sallai and Victor Osimhen have all been cautioned twice in the competition this season, while January loan signing Noa Lang received two bookings for parent club Napoli.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot was insistent that his team was denied a penalty when a potential equalizer was disallowed on Tuesday. The Reds believed they had drawn level on 71 minutes when the ball was forced in from a Dominik Szoboszlai corner, only for a handball by Ibrahima Konate to be identified following a protracted VAR review.
Slot, however, maintains that a penalty should have been given for a foul on Virgil van Dijk and implied that referee Jesus Gil Manzano was influenced by the raucous atmosphere.
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"In the Premier League, there is much more allowed than in the Champions League," he said. "That's why I was so surprised it wasn't a penalty. In all the other incidents where he thought he saw something when we made a foul and was so fast to blow his whistle and give Galatasaray a free-kick.
"Then it was really really, really surprising the same referee in another incident when they make the foul says he is going to accept this completely. But if you look overall at the 90 minutes don't think I can be surprise by that decision. Every free-kick and corner kick we took, even if we just looked at a Galatasaray player the referee already gave a free-kick for Galatasaray.
"If you then look at how much they pulled Virgil's shirt before the ball hit Ibou's arm, then it's safe to say we weren't the only ones impressed by the atmosphere here today."