Istanbul: Barcelona produced a commanding second-half performance to defeat Galatasaray 4-1 in Istanbul, with Anthony Gordon scoring his first UEFA Champions League goal for the Spanish giants as Hansi Flick’s side maintained their perfect start to the season.
The Catalan club recovered from an early setback to secure another emphatic victory, extending their winning run to 10 matches across all competitions. Barcelona have now collected six points from their opening two Champions League league-phase fixtures.
Galatasaray initially threatened to derail the visitors’ impressive run, taking the lead through Aleksey Batrakov after Rafael Leao created an opening down the left flank. Batrakov’s effort took a deflection off Joao Cancelo before finding the bottom corner.
The Turkish side appeared to have doubled their advantage six minutes later when Baris Alper Yilmaz turned Victor Osimhen’s header past goalkeeper Joan Garcia. However, a lengthy VAR review ruled out the goal for offside, giving Barcelona a crucial reprieve.
Barcelona gradually regained control and found their equaliser shortly before half-time. Dani Olmo helped direct the ball into Cancelo’s path, and the Portuguese defender curled a precise finish beyond goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir to make it 1-1.
Barcelona Take Control After the Break
Flick’s team emerged with renewed intensity after the interval and quickly turned the contest in their favour.
Fermin Lopez put Barcelona ahead in the 50th minute, heading home from a well-delivered Lamine Yamal cross. The visitors struck again just three minutes later, with Yamal producing excellent close control before setting up Gordon to fire home his first Champions League goal for the club.
The goal capped an encouraging start to Gordon’s Barcelona career, coming just three days after he had scored his first goal for the Catalan side.
Barcelona continued to dominate as Galatasaray struggled to contain their attacking movement. Karim Adeyemi, another summer arrival, added the fourth goal in the 65th minute after Gabriel Jesus redirected a Yamal cross into his path. Adeyemi made no mistake, driving the ball into the bottom corner to complete the scoring.
What had threatened to become a difficult evening for Barcelona had turned into a comfortable victory, underlining the team’s attacking depth and ability to respond under pressure.
Flick’s Barcelona Continue Remarkable Scoring Run
The result further strengthened Barcelona’s impressive record under Flick in the Champions League. The team have scored 84 goals in 28 matches under the German manager, averaging three goals per game in the competition.
Barcelona had opened their league-phase campaign with a 5-1 victory over Feyenoord and have now scored nine goals across their first two European fixtures.
Their domestic form has been equally impressive, with the Catalan side also winning all eight of their matches in Spain’s top flight, according to the match report.
Barcelona now turn their attention to a challenging trip to France, where they are scheduled to face Paris Saint-Germain on October 20.
Galatasaray, meanwhile, must regroup after another European setback. Following their 3-1 defeat to Sporting CP last month, the Turkish side will seek their first win of the league-phase campaign when they take on Lille on October 21.
