Lang nearly lost a finger during the match in Liverpool

Liverpool went into the second leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 against Galatasaray with a narrow deficit, however in front of their home fans they secured a convincing 4–0 win to eliminate the Turkish side.

Despite the dominant victory, much of the discussion in England has focused on an incident involving Noa Lang, who nearly lost a finger after falling near the advertising boards. Just over an hour into the match at Anfield, Liverpool settled the question of who would advance to the quarter-finals.

Dominik Szoboszlai canceled out the first-leg deficit in the 25th minute, while Mohamed Salah missed a chance to extend the lead just before halftime with a poorly taken penalty. Salah later made amends by scoring for the final 4–0 in the 62nd minute, after earlier goals from Hugo Ekitike and Ryan Gravenberch.

The moment that drew the most attention came in the 76th minute. Galatasaray winger Noa Lang attempted to dribble in Liverpool’s penalty area but failed and followed the ball out of play, where his left thumb became trapped between advertising boards.

The Dutch player suffered a deep wound and was left in severe pain on the pitch. Liverpool players initially rushed to help him, followed by medical staff, who carried him off on a stretcher a few minutes later.

”Noa sustained a serious injury. He was taken to hospital where he will be examined. It’s a severe finger injury. When I went to check on Noa Lang, a few people told me that half of his finger had been torn off. He was in a lot of pain.” said Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk after the match.

Eray Yazga, the general secretary of Galatasaray, told HTSpor, via the Daily Mail, that the club plans to request that UEFA cover the player’s wages while he is out injured. ”We filed a complaint with UEFA representatives after the match, and they have also conducted their own investigation. UEFA will now review the matter.”