Galatasaray rattled Barcelona early in their UEFA Champions League league stage meeting at RAMS Park, with Aleksey Batrakov’s 28th minute strike putting the hosts ahead and leaving Hansi Flick’s side chasing the game. The Turkish club then thought they had a second through Baris Yilmaz, only for VAR to rule it out for offside, while the final scoreboard would later show a 4-1 win for Barcelona.
At the time of the live report, Barcelona were 1-0 down in Istanbul. The scoreboard from the match recorded a full time result of Galatasaray 1-4 Barcelona, with the scoring summary listing João Cancelo on 43 minutes, FermÃn López on 50, Anthony Gordon on 53 and Karim Adeyemi on 65 after Batrakov’s opener.
Batrakov’s breakthrough came after a driving run from Rafael Leão on the left. The former AC Milan forward cut the ball back to the edge of the box, and the Russia international took it on before finishing with a deflection that wrong footed Joan Garcia and carried into the net. The goal was described as Batrakov’s first in the Champions League.
Galatasaray believed they had made it 2-0 in the 34th minute when Baris Yilmaz found the net, but the forward was judged offside following a VAR check. The decision gave Barcelona a reprieve.
Barcelona went into the match having won all nine of their games in all competitions this season, a flawless start under Hansi Flick. That sequence was under threat after Galatasaray’s early goal.
The game kicked off at 8pm BST (10pm local time) on Tuesday, October 13 at RAMS Park in Istanbul. Marco Guida was the referee. In the UK, it was shown on TNT Sports and available to stream on HBO Max. Viewers outside the UK were pointed to a regional guide.
Galatasaray boss Okan Buruk made three changes to the starting XI that faced Sporting. Mario Lemina, Victor Osimhen and Rafael Leão came in for Leroy Sané, Gabriel Sara and Roland Sallai.
Lineups
Galatasaray XI: Ugurcan Çakir, Eren Elmali, Ismail Jakobs, Davinson Sánchez, Baris Alper Yilmaz, Lucas Torreira, Mario Lemina, Rafael Leão, Aleksey Batrakov, Yunus Akgün, Victor Osimhen.
Barcelona were without in form attacker Raphinha, meaning Fermin Lopez or Anthony Gordon was expected to play as the central forward. Eric Garcia and Gerard Martin also returned to the Champions League XI.
Barcelona XI: Joan GarcÃa, João Cancelo, Gerard MartÃn, Pau CubarsÃ, Eric GarcÃa, Pedri, Rodri, Dani Olmo, Anthony Gordon, FermÃn López, Lamine Yamal.
Galatasaray’s fast start and the disallowed second created a tense night in Istanbul, but the final scoreboard showed Barcelona leaving with a 4-1 victory. Batrakov’s first Champions League goal and Yilmaz’s offside call will be remembered as the early flashpoints in a game that ultimately swung the visitors’ way.
