Barcelona regained their form after a shaky first half to beat Galatasaray 4-1 in their UEFA Champions League match in Turkiye on Tuesday. Lamine Yamal was the main difference after the interval, tearing the home side apart at Istanbul’s Ali Sami Yen Stadium, which is known as Galatasaray’s cauldron.
The victory moved Barcelona to the top of the Champions League table after two wins, halfway through the second round of matches. Galatasaray, still without a point, are near the foot of the standings.
Galatasaray take an early lead against Barcelona
Barcelona dominated the opening stages, but the home defence kept Yamal tightly policed on the right. Many of their attacks instead came through Anthony Gordon on the other flank. Galatasaray struck first in the 27th minute, when Gordon went down in the penalty box and the hosts countered quickly through Rafael Leao.
Leao pulled the ball back to Aleksey Batrakov, whose drive deflected off Joao Cancelo and into the corner of the net. Galatasaray pressed hard after that, and Victor Osimhen rose to head a corner past goalkeeper Joan Garcia. Baris Yilmaz also put the ball over the line but was ruled offside.
Barcelona answered before half-time. Davinson Sanchez gave the ball away, and it reached Dani Olmo, who played a pass to Cancelo to level the score. Fermin Lopez later described the first goal as a turning point. “That goal made things a bit strange for us, because we had been dominating,” he said. “But we knew how to react and come back.”
Yamal’s second-half display changes the game
Yamal took over at the start of the second half. He set up Gordon, who failed to convert the chance, and then placed a curled cross onto the head of Fermin, who nodded Barcelona ahead in the 50th minute. Three minutes later, Yamal beat Eren Elmali three times in a small space and rolled a pass to Gordon, who finished in front of goal.
After 65 minutes, Yamal cut in from the wing and found substitute Gabriel Jesus. The forward could not control the ball, and it deflected to Karim Adeyemi, who drilled it home to complete the scoring. Yamal came closest to a goal of his own when he reached a loose ball first, but his shot flew over the bar.
The 19-year-old ended the match without a goal. That would have brought him closer to Kylian Mbappe’s record for Champions League goals as a teenager. He did, however, take the captain’s armband again when Pedri was replaced, having become Barcelona’s youngest-ever captain in the previous round.
Flick and Fermin praise Yamal after the win
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said Yamal had changed the game. “It’s incredible to have players like that,” Flick said. “He’s turned the game around for us.” He also pointed to the chances Yamal creates in training. “When you see the chances Lamine creates in every training session, it’s the same in matches,” Flick said. “Everyone’s watching Lamine – that’s only natural.”
Fermin spoke warmly about his teammate. “He’s a friend and a great teammate,” he said. “When he has the ball, I always look for a run. He’s the best in the world.” Speaking to a Spanish broadcaster, Fermin also warned against complacency. “We’re at a very high level. We have to keep going; the season is very long. We can’t relax.”
