Galatasaray 1-4 Barcelona: Batrakov 28; Cancelo 43, Fermin 50, Gordon 53, Adeyemi 65
Barcelona maintained their perfect record this season with a 4-1 comeback victory over Galatasaray in Istanbul, as Anthony Gordon scored his first Champions League goal for the Spanish champions.
Hansi Flick’s side recovered from conceding an early goal to claim their second win in the league phase of the Champions League, moving to the top of the table with six points. Goals from Joao Cancelo, Fermin Lopez, Gordon and Karim Adeyemi secured a comfortable victory after Galatasaray had threatened to take control of the contest.
The hosts made the most of their early attacking opportunity when Aleksey Batrakov found the net after Rafael Leao’s run down the left. The forward cut the ball back into the penalty area, where Batrakov’s shot took a deflection off Cancelo and beat Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia.
Barcelona had appealed for a penalty moments earlier when Gordon went down in the area, but their protests were dismissed. Galatasaray then appeared to extend their advantage when Baris Alper Yilmaz turned Victor Osimhen’s header into the net. However, a VAR review ruled the goal out for offside, giving the visitors a chance to recover.
Barcelona gradually improved as half-time approached and drew level two minutes before the interval. Dani Olmo helped the ball into Cancelo’s path, and the Portuguese defender curled beyond Ugurcan Cakir to restore parity.
The equaliser changed the momentum, and Barcelona took control shortly after the restart. Five minutes into the second half, Fermin Lopez headed home from a cross by Lamine Yamal to put the visitors ahead for the first time.
Gordon then increased the lead three minutes later. Yamal showed off his excellent feet to create the opening, allowing the England international to finish and register his first goal in Europe for Barcelona, extending a pleasant past week in front of goal that began with his first for the club against Getafe.
Galatasaray struggled to respond as Barcelona found greater freedom in attack. Adeyemi, introduced as a substitute for Gordon, added the fourth in the 65th minute, driving the ball into the bottom corner from the left side of the penalty area after Gabriel Jesus helped Yamal’s cross into his path.
