Yamal magic helps Barcelona beat Galatasaray in Champions League

Yamal provided 2 assists and ‘turned the crippled around’ for Barcelona, who won 4-1 successful Istanbul.

Barcelona and Lamine Yamal rediscovered their sparkle aft a rocky first-half spell against Galatasaray to triumph 4-1 successful their UEFA Champions League lucifer successful Turkiye.

Yamal tore the hosts isolated aft half-time astatine Istanbul’s Ali Sami Yen Stadium, Galatasaray’s cauldron, connected Tuesday.

“It’s unthinkable to person players similar that,” said Barcelona manager Hansi Flick of Yamal. “He’s turned the crippled astir for us.”

Halfway done the 2nd circular of matches, the triumph lifted Barcelona to the apical of the Champions League array with 2 wins. Galatasaray are pointless and adjacent the ft of the standings.

“We’re astatine a precise precocious level. We person to support going; the play is precise long. We can’t relax,” Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez told a Spanish broadcaster.

Barcelona dominated the aboriginal stages. With Yamal vigorously policed connected the close by the location defence, galore of their attacks flowed done Anthony Gordon connected the different flank.

Yet Galatasaray took the pb aft 27 minutes. After Gordon went tumbling successful the punishment box, the hosts launched a accelerated counterattack done Rafael Leao connected the left.

He pulled the shot backmost to the borderline of the country to Russian Aleksey Batrakov, whose thrust deflected disconnected Joao Cancelo and into the country of the goal.

“That extremity made things a spot unusual for us, due to the fact that we had been dominating. But we knew however to respond and travel back,” said Fermin.

That ignited a spell of furious location unit which culminated successful Victor Osimhen rising to caput a country past goalkeeper Joan Garcia. Baris Yilmaz toed the shot implicit the enactment but was ruled offside.

Barcelona reasserted control. When Yamal went down connected the borderline of the box, the shot broke to a amazed Davinson Sanchez, who gave the shot distant immediately. It fell to Dani Olmo, who threaded a walk to Cancelo, who scored.

At the commencement of the 2nd half, Yamal took over. After mounting up Gordon, who spurned the chance, helium helped enactment Barca up successful the 50th minute, placing a gentle curled transverse connected the forehead of Fermin, who nodded home.

“He’s a person and a large teammate,” said Fermin of Yamal. “When helium has the ball, I ever look for a run. He’s the champion successful the world. We get on good disconnected the field, and that shows connected the pitch, too.”

Lopez celebrates with Yamal aft scoring Barcelona’s 2nd extremity [Yasin Akgul/AFP]

‘Everyone’s watching Lamine’

Three minutes later, Yamal bushed Eren Elmali 3 times, and successful 3 antithetic ways, successful a tiny abstraction earlier rolling a walk to Gordon successful beforehand of goal.

This clip the England striker made nary mistake, with Elmali, a Turkiye international, lifting his arms to the heavens successful an look of powerlessness.

After 65 minutes, Yamal chopped successful from his helping and fired a walk to replacement centre guardant Gabriel Jesus. The ex-Arsenal antheral could not power the ball, but it deflected to Karim Adeyemi, who drilled the shot home.

“When you spot the chances Lamine creates successful each grooming session, it’s the aforesaid successful matches,” said Flick. “I person a batch of top-quality players. Everyone’s watching Lamine – that’s lone natural.”

Yamal could person scored himself, but aft being quickest to a escaped ball, helium fired his changeable implicit the bar.

The 19-year-old finished the crippled without a goal, which would person taken him person to Kylian Mbappe’s grounds for Champions League goals arsenic a teenager, but Yamal, who became Barcelona’s youngest-ever skipper successful the erstwhile round, again took implicit the captain’s armband erstwhile Pedri was replaced.