For a second on Tuesday night, Galatasaray looked to be leading 2-0 against Barcelona with a terrifying atmosphere behind them, and for the first time this season, Barcelona looked under pressure.
However, from the moment their second goal was disallowed, Barcelona took over and in serious fashion.
From Joao Cancelo’s equalizer to dominating Barcelona’s plan after the break, the Turkish side were humiliated in the second half as Barcelona demolished them with unreal ease. The goal kept coming, and before they knew it, the hosts were 4-1 down.
There is an element of inevitability to Barcelona’s attack this season, and that was on full display once again last night as the team came back from adversity and turned things around in grandstand style.
Barca Universal brings you the player ratings of Galatasaray 1-4 Barcelona.
Joan Garcia: 8.5
The goalkeeper had a difficult evening, especially in the phases of the match where Galatasaray dominated, and failed to keep a clean sheet in Istanbul.
He couldn’t do much against the first goal conceded, nor against the second scored by Galatasaray and ultimately refused. Did decently under pressure with the ball at his feet, although he seemed to be coping with the heat at times.
Was stellar after the break with his radical and daring saves, denying Osimhen time and time again.
João Cancelo: 8
Cancelo’s attacking actions have been at a relative high of late, and the defender continued that trend last night by scoring Barcelona’s first-half equalizer with a calm finish.
Defensively, he did quite well, but sometimes struggled to keep up physically. However, the left winger looked more stable than Barcelona’s right winger, by far, defensively.
Gérard Martin: 6.5
Barcelona’s first half performance was not worrying in terms of the team’s difficulty in scoring, but it was worrying in terms of the defense’s difficulty in keeping up with the firepower, physicality and intent of the Turkish attack. Gérard Martin plays a major role in this problem.
The youngster struggled to keep up with Galatasaray’s offensive versatility and attacks and was often caught out of position. His distribution seemed shaky and player confidence did not improve as the game progressed.
Paul Cubarsi: 7.5
Returning to the starting XI for the first time after the international break, Cubarsi also had a grueling clash as Galatasaray attacked with serious intent, looked to make the most of their chances and successfully challenged Barcelona’s high line.
His positioning looked promising all night, and it was often up to Cubarsi to regain ground and cut off Galatasaray’s attacks. His game wasn’t perfect, but he was a bright spark compared to the others on defense.
Eric Garcia: 6.5
Eric Garcia was perhaps the Barcelona player who suffered the most in the first half, as he was challenged by Galatasaray’s Rafael Leao, who gave him hell on the flank.
Faced with the raw pace and tricks of the Portuguese star, the Spaniard often placed second and simply struggled to keep up. Offensively, he barely advanced consistently enough to create significant chances.
Rodri: 9
Rodri was one of the few Barcelona players who could match Galatasaray’s speed, directness and physicality, and his presence brought stability to the team’s lineup, even in a match where chaos seemed to dictate the pace.
Pédri: 8
Returning to the starting XI against the Turkish side, Pedri was one of the team’s creative architects under pressure and was brilliant to watch.
The Canarian dominated the midfield in the opening phase of the match, and even when the Turkish side appeared to be gaining momentum, he played a key role in the pressing and ball retention structure. Overall, the Pedri-Rodri combination worked like a cheat code.
Fermin Lopez: 8
The La Masia graduate’s work rate off the ball was commendable, but his biggest moment of the match came in the 50th minute when he made a dazzling run to collect the ball from Lamine Yamal and headed Barcelona into the lead.
Beyond that, he played a crucial role in the attacking structure, linked up well with Yamal and Olmo and ensured that the pressure always remained on the Galatasaray goal.
Anthony Gordon: 8
Two games, two goals for Barcelona now for Anthony Gordon. In fact, he could well have scored a hat-trick against Galatasaray.
The player was a dynamic element on the Barcelona flank and found himself in the right goal positions on several occasions. He missed a huge chance early in the second half, but scored from a much tighter angle to make it 3-1 for the Catalans.
Dani Olmo: 7
Olmo, starting as Barcelona’s center forward, was the main talking point before kick-off, and the experiment was not a complete failure. However, the player did not have the effect hoped for by the coach.
He provided the dynamic element Flick was hoping for, but he was far from clinical in the final third. He had a few chances in the first half that should have been buried, which he struggled to put away.
Yamal lamina: 9.5
Lamine Yamal was simply stunning for Barcelona against Galatasaray. If his performance in the first half was decent, he was simply untouchable after the break.
The youngster single-handedly opened the floodgates in the second half with a sumptuous assist to Fermin Lopez, then continued the carnage with a devastating run and assist for Gordon’s goal.
Even on the third goal after the break, it was Yamal’s ball that triggered Adeyemi’s strike after an unexpected touch from Gabriel Jesus.
Gn sports
