Pedri puts sanity in hell

Galatasaray-FC Barcelona – FCB

Barça reaches the quarterfinals of the Europa League with a comeback (1-2) against Galatasaray

MADRID, March 17. (EUROPE PRESS) –

FC Barcelona beat Galatasaray (1-2) this Thursday in the second leg of the Europa League round of 16 to continue their European journey, thanks to goals from Pedri, the Canarian vital to give sanity to the culé game in Istanbul, and Aubameyang.

Xavi Hernández’s team delivered at the Ali Sami Yen but played with fire for not knowing how to control the match with a tight score. Turkish hell broke loose with Marcao making it 1-0 after half an hour, but Pedri came to the rescue before the break.

After the break, Barça also struck early, but Galatasaray had their arrivals to have forced the extra time. Pedri’s great game sought to bring calm and judgment to a Barça that was too excited, without the experience of other seasons or the game that he has been looking for from day to day since Xavi arrived.

The culé team lacked skill or the pressure could at times due to the need for victory. Gomis had a called goal for the Turks in the sixth minute and Frenkie De Jong was the one who pardoned the visitors. Barça cut the rival’s exits and managed to calm down, but then conceded the 1-0 in a corner kick.

Marcao unleashed madness with his header and allowed Galatasaray to tighten their defense even more. However, Pedri slipped through that crowded defense and, in a small area, left rivals on the ground until making it 1-1. The canary prevented the blood from reaching the river, and the minutes passed without marking the Turks.

After the break, the local goalkeeper Iñaki Peña, key to the 0-0 win last week, wanted to be the protagonist, but after a double intervention, Aubameyang made it 1-1. The Gabonese striker scored his seventh goal in just over a month for Barça, but Barça did not know how to kill the game. He had occasions, but also the rival.

With Dembélé for Adama, with Ferran in his unchecking and Pedri also providing solutions, Barça was able to sentence. However, Akturkoglu’s runs bordered on displeasure on more than one occasion for Xavi’s men. The atmosphere heated up with the stands throwing bottles at Alba and the culé team got their ticket to the quarterfinals.

DATA SHEET:

–RESULT: GALATASARAY, 1 – FC BARCELONA, 2. (1-1, at halftime).

–ALIGNMENTS:

GALATASARAY: Iñaki Peña; Boey, Nelsson, Marcao, Van Aanholt (Bayram, min.85); Kutlu, Antalyali, Babel (Dervisoglu, min.74), Cicaldau (Morutan, min.74), Aktürkoglu and Gomis (Mohamed, min.63).

FC BARCELONA: Ter Stegen; Dest (Araujo, min.56), Piqué (Lenglet, min.82), Eric García, Jordi Alba; Busquets, Pedri, Frenkie De Jong (Gavi, min. 68), Ferran Torres, Adama Traoré (Dembélé, rest) and Aubameyang (Memphis, min. 82).

–GOALS:

1 – 0, min.28, Marcao.

1 – 1, min.37, Pedri.

–REFEREE: Daniele Orsato (ITA). He admonished Marcao (min.30), Van Aanholt (min.72) and Bayram (min.90) by Galatasaray. And to Busquets (min.27), Eric García (min.42), Gavi (min.79) and Alba (min.87) at Barça.

–STADIUM: Ali Sami Yen.