Barcelona vs Galatasaray

Barca bombarded Galatasaray with 14 goal attempts against only three from the Turkish side, who were indebted to 23-year-old Spanish goalkeeper Inaki Pena for ...

69 mins: Adama Traore seems to have been told to shoot when he cuts in from the right but his quality is lacking. He lets fly with a right-footed strike but belts the effort high and wide. He chips it over to Pedri who nods the ball to Aubameyang. Aubameyang chests the ball down to the arriving De Jong but he can only flick the ball to the far post where it bounces back to the goalkeeper who clings onto it! The ball is chipped over the top and Gomis brings it under control. 90+4 mins: Galatasaray keep Barcelon out! They’re digging in for a draw.

Barcelona vs. Galatasaray score: Xavi's Barça held at home as Europa League tie will be decided in Turkey · 1. That is a (deserved) result Galatasaray will love.

Sporting a goal difference of +15, the best defense has been attacking for them and that will continue to be the case facing Galatasaray. Xavi has wanted the team to play the Barcelona way and it shows as they boast the second-best pass completion in La Liga since Xavi has taken over. The reaction to press when a Barca player first receives the ball has been superb. Unbeaten in their last 11 league matches, Barcelona have climbed to third in La Liga and while they probably won't catch Real Madrid, it's an impressive performance from the team that was mired in midtable land during the season. Barca proceed to do nothing on the corner kick. Not expecting them to put four past Galatasaray as they did against Napoli, and credit is due with the Turkish side's fantastic defensive record in the knockout stage, but they've conceded in their last six home games, including a 3-1 loss to Kasimpasa and 2-1 to league leaders Trabzonspor. This draw for them is quite a surprise when you consider they are in 12th place in the Turkish League and regularly struggle. They may just have had three shots on goal and a 0.2 xG, but that was exactly how they had to approach this game. Barca outshot the Turkish visitors 15-3 and beat them on xG 1.6-0.2, but they had nothing to show for it. Paramount+). Any draw would result in the game going to extra time, and from there it will be penalties if things remain level. First, there is Sergio Busquets who played in the second half and will likely get the nod at defensive midfield, but the big change will be having Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the XI. He's been the team's best attacker since joining on a free transfer from Arsenal with five goals in his last four games entering Thursday. This felt like Xavi thinking he could get by without playing some key players, but it didn't work out and leaves things hanging in the balance. Barca entered the game in the best form under Xavi, winning four straight and scoring 14 goals in the process. Barcelona failed to score for the first time in 17 games and had to settle for an underwhelming 0-0 draw at home against Galatasaray on Thursday in the Europa League round of 16 first leg.