Yamal 9.5, Rodri 9 | Galatasaray 1-4 Barcelona: Player Ratings

Yamal 9.5, Rodri 9 | Galatasaray 1-4 Barcelona: Player Ratings For a second on Tuesday night, Galatasaray appeared to be 2-0 up against Barcelona with a terrifying atmosphere behind them, and for the first time this season, Barcelona seemed to be under pressure. From the moment their second goal was disallowed, however, Barcelona took over and in some serious style. From Joao Cancelo’s equalizer to Barcelona’s plan dominance after the break, the Turkish side were humbled in the second period as Barcelona tore them down with unreal ease. The goal kept flowing, and before they knew it, the hosts were 4-1 down. There is an element of inevitability about Barcelona’s attack this season, and it was on full display last night once again as the team came back from adversity and turned their situation around in grandstand fashion. Barca Universal brings you the player ratings from Galatasaray 1-4 Barcelona. Joan Garcia: 8.5 The goalkeeper faced a challenging night, particularly in phases of the game where Galatasaray dominated, and failed to keep a clean sheet in Istanbul. Not much he could do about the first goal conceded, nor the second one that Galatasaray scored and eventually had disallowed. Did decently under pressure with the ball at his feet, although he did appear to be facing the heat at times. Was stellar after the break with his sweeping and bold saves, denying the likes of Osimhen time and time again. Joao Cancelo: 8 Cancelo scored Barcelona’s equaliser. (Photo by Francisco Macia/Getty Images) Cancelo’s offensive stocks have been at a relative peak in recent times, and the defender continued that trend last night as he scored Barcelona’s equalizer in the first half with a calm finish. Defensively, he did decently well but struggled to keep up with the physicality at times. However, the left-wing appeared more stable than the right-wing for Barcelona by quite some distance in a defensive sense. Gerard Martin: 6.5 Barcelona’s first-half performance was not worrying in terms of the team struggling to score, but was worrying in terms of the defense struggling to keep up with the Turkish attack’s firepower, physicality and sheer intent. Gerard Martin was a major part of that problem. The youngster struggled to keep up with the attacking versatility and runs of Galatasaray’s attacks and was often caught out of position. His distribution looked shaky, and the player’s confidence did not get any better as the game progressed. Pau Cubarsi: 7.5 Returning to the starting lineup for the first time after the international break, Cubarsi also had a grueling clash as Galatasaray attacked with serious intent, looked to make the most of their chances and challenged Barcelona’s high line to good effect. His positioning was promising through the night, and it was often left to Cubarsi to recover ground and cut off Galatasaray’s attacks. His game was not perfect, but he was a bright spark compared to the others in defense. Eric Garcia: 6.5 Eric Garcia was perhaps the Barcelona player who suffered the most in the first half, as he was challenged by Galatasaray’s Rafael Leao, who made life hell for him on the flank. Put up against the Portuguese star’s raw pace and trickery, the Spaniard often came out second-best and simply struggled to keep up. Offensively, he barely got forward regularly enough to create any chances of importance. Rodri: 9 Rodri was one of the few Barcelona players who was able to keep up with Galatasaray’s speed, directness and physicality, and his presence brought stability to the team’s buildup even in a game where chaos seemed to be dictating the flow. Pedri: 8 Barcelona turned up the heat after the break. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images) Returning to the starting lineup against the Turkish side, Pedri was one of the team’s creative architects under pressure and was brilliant to watch. The Canary Islander dominated the midfield in the opening phase of the game, and even when the Turkish side looked to be taking the impetus, he was key in the pressing and ball-retention structure. All in all, the Pedri-Rodri combination worked like a cheat code. Fermin Lopez: 8 The duo behind the comeback goal. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images) The La Masia graduate’s work rate off the ball was commendable, but his biggest moment in the game arrived in the 50th minute when he made a searing run to get on the end of Lamine Yamal’s ball and headed Barcelona into the lead. Beyond that, he was crucial in the attacking structure, linked up well with Yamal and Olmo, and ensured the pressure always remained on Galatasaray’s goal. Anthony Gordon: 8 Two games, two goals for Barcelona now for Anthony Gordon. Truth be told, he could well have had a hat-trick against Galatasaray. The player was a lively wire down the flank for Barcelona and got into the right goalscoring positions on a couple of occasions. Missed a massive chance early in the second Half, but scored from a much tighter angle to make it 3-1 for the Catalans. Dani Olmo: 7 Olmo starting as Barcelona’s centre-forward was the biggest talking point ahead of kickoff, and the experiment was not a complete failure. The player, however, did not have the effect the manager would have hoped for. He did bring the dynamic element that Flick hoped for, but he was far from clinical in the final third. Had a couple of chances in the first half that should have been buried, which he struggled to put away. Lamine Yamal: 9.5 Lamine Yamal was simply stunning for Barcelona against Galatasaray. If hisfirst-halff performance was decent, he was simply untouchable after the break. The youngster single-handedly opened the floodgates in the second half with a sumptuous assist to Fermin Lopez, then continued the carnage with a devastating run and assist for Gordon’s goal. Even in the third goal after the break, it was Yamal’s ball that set up Adeyemi’s strike after an unexpected touch from Gabriel Jesus.