Barcelona overturn Galatasaray deficit to seal emphatic Champions League win

Barcelona recovered from conceding first to beat Galatasaray 4-1 in the UEFA Champions League at Rams Park in Istanbul on Tuesday evening.

The home side struggled to settle as Barcelona dominated possession and created the early openings. Anthony Gordon and Joao Cancelo both tested Galatasaray goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakır, while Dani Olmo headed wide from a Lamine Yamal cross.

Galatasaray then took an unexpected lead in the 28th minute on the counter-attack. Rafael Leao carried the move forward before his pull-back found Aleksey Batrakov, whose effort took a deflection on its way into the net.

The Turkish side appeared to have extended their advantage when Victor Osimhen headed in from a corner. However, the goal was disallowed after a VAR review found the striker to be offside.

Barcelona responded before the interval. Olmo threaded a precise short pass into the penalty area, allowing Joao Cancelo to finish neatly and bring the visitors level.

The Catalan side increased the pressure after the restart and moved in front five minutes into the second half. Gordon missed an inviting opportunity immediately after the interval, but Fermin Lopez then headed in from another Yamal delivery in the 50th minute.

Barcelona added a third three minutes later. Yamal produced an impressive run to the byline before selecting Gordon, who squeezed his finish into the net to put the visitors 3-1 ahead.

Substitute Karim Adeyemi completed the scoring with a composed volley inside the area, securing a convincing victory for Hansi Flick’s team.

“We are very happy with the result. We played well in the first half,” said Barcelona manager Hansi Flick after the match.

“They had one chance and scored, but we managed to come back and that was very important. In the Champions League, when we played well, in some situations we didn’t make good decisions in the final third, and that’s something we have to improve.

“But today, in this stadium, with this atmosphere, it wasn’t easy, but I’m very happy. We gave the ball away in the final third, but we needed to improve. In the second half, we dominated the game.”

The result means the defending La Liga champions have scored nine goals across their opening two UEFA Champions League fixtures, while conceding twice.