Europa League – Galatasaray vs Barcelona: Following a scoreless clash at the Camp Nou. Galatasaray welcomed the Catalan club to the Nef Stadium on Thursday for the 2nd leg of their RO16 tie.
It was the hosts who opened the scoring through Marcos Teixeira’s diving header from a corner in the 28th minute. Pedri relaxed the nerves of the Culers through his 37th minute finish, when he dribbled past the home defence for a composed finish.
Aubamayeng’s close range finish through De Jong’s assist, sealed a 1-2 for Barcelona. Who are now through to the quarter finals of the Europa League for the first time since 2001.
Europa League – Galatasaray vs Barcelona: Match report
Galatasaray: Peña; Boey, Nelsson, Marcão, Van Aanholt (Bayram 85’); Antalyali, Kutlu; Babel (Dervisoglu 74’), Cicaldau (Morutan 74’), Akturkoglu; Gomis (Mohamed 63’)
Goal: Marcão (28’)
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Dest (Araujo 56’), Piqué (Lenglet 81’), Eric, Alba; F. De Jong (Gavi 68’), Busquets, Pedri; Adama (Dembélé 46’), Aubameyang (Memphis 81’), Ferran
Goals: Pedri (37’), Aubameyang (49’)
Managers’ reaction
Galatasaray’s Domènec Torrent: “We kept hoping for a draw until the last minute.
“I am very proud of the players and I am very proud of our fans. We have some really incredible supporters. Thanks to the support of our fans we were able to play until the last minute, always hoping to get a draw. We kept it until the end.
“Pedri is a good player with a future. Thanks to his individual game, they were able to score the first goal and equalize. The second goal was very interesting. I don’t understand that rule, but since it’s a football rule we have to respect it. Although we were 10, the referee decided to continue the game. That’s why they scored the second goal.
“I think the team is on the right path. It must continue on this path. We will try to finish the league at the highest level possible, preparing ourselves for the games that lie ahead.”
Barcelona’s Xavier Hernández: “We played a match of huge personality. It was a great performance to fight back in a ground like this against a very good team. They knew how to defend against us but we were patient. I’m very happy for my players.
“Today was important. It is a European competition and we want to go far.
“And you could say that we are in a good place [ahead of El Clasico]. But that means nothing, I have seen that many times before. It will be very difficult. It will be tough.”
