Juventus skipper states that Champions League elimination brought the team close to tears.

TURIN, Italy — Juventus captain Manuel Locatelli felt emotional after witnessing his team’s extraordinary Champions League comeback narrowly miss the mark against Galatasaray on Wednesday.

After trailing 5-2 from the first leg, Juventus surged to a 3-0 lead in the return match — despite playing nearly the entire second half with 10 players following Lloyd Kelly’s red card — which took the contest into extra time.

United States midfielder Weston McKennie netted a goal to level the aggregate score, but Galatasaray found the net twice in extra time, resulting in a 3-2 defeat on the night and a 7-5 loss on aggregate.

Juventus supporters applauded their team post-match despite the elimination.

“It almost makes me want to cry for how much we believed,” Locatelli remarked. “I think we gave our all — and more.”

“These are the types of matches,” he continued, “that remain with you.”

Juventus defender Federico Gatti, who contributed the team’s second goal, expressed that the opportunity for qualification was lost in the previous week.

“It’s frustrating because we reached extra time somewhat exhausted,” he stated. “We had really turned the game around, but I must reiterate — we let it slip in the first leg. A tie like this simply cannot conclude in that manner.”

The defeat for Juventus leaves only one Italian club remaining in the Champions League for the round of 16 after Atalanta achieved a remarkable comeback to eliminate Borussia Dortmund.

Luciano Spalletti’s Juventus is also facing challenges in the domestic league, currently positioned fifth in Serie A, four points behind AS Roma for the final Champions League spot for the upcoming season.

Information from The Associated Press was utilized in this report.