Yamal stays cool in Galatasaray cauldron to spur Barcelona to victory

ISTANBUL — Barcelona and Lamine Yamal rediscovered their sparkle after a rocky first-half spell in the cauldron of Istanbul's Ali Sami Yen Stadium to claim a 4-1 away win at Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Yamal tore the host apart after halftime.

"It's incredible to have players like that," said Barcelona coach Hansi Flick.

"He's turned the game around for us."

Halfway through the second round of matches, the victory lifted Barcelona to the top of the Champions League table with two wins. Galatasaray sits near the foot of the standings with zero points.

"We're at a very high level. We have to keep going; the season is very long. We can't relax," Barcelona's Fermin Lopez told Spanish broadcaster Movistar.

Barcelona dominated the early stages. With Yamal vigorously policed on the right by the home defense, many of its attacks flowed through Anthony Gordon on the other flank.

Yet, Galatasaray took the lead after 27 minutes. When Gordon went tumbling in the host's penalty box, it launched a rapid counterattack through Rafael Leao on the left.

He pulled the ball back to the edge of the area to Russian Aleksei Batrakov whose drive deflected off Joao Cancelo and into the corner of the goal.

"That goal made things a bit strange for us, because we had been dominating, but we knew how to react and come back," said Fermin.

That ignited a spell of furious home pressure which culminated with Victor Osimhen rising to head a corner past Barca keeper Joan Garcia.

Baris Alper Yilmaz toed the ball over the line, but was ruled offside.

Barcelona reasserted control. When Yamal went down on the edge of the box, the ball broke to a surprised Davinson Sanchez who immediately gave the ball away. It fell to Dani Olmo who threaded a pass to Cancelo who scored.

At the start of the second half Yamal took over. After setting up Gordon, who spurned the chance, he helped put Barca ahead in the 50th minute, placing a gentle curled cross on the forehead of Fermin who nodded home.

"He's a friend and a great teammate," said Fermin of Yamal.

"When he has the ball, I always look for a run. He's the best in the world. We get along well off the field, too, and that shows on the pitch."

All eyes on Lamine

Three minutes later, Yamal beat Galatasaray left-back Eren Elmali three times, and in three different ways, in a tiny space before rolling a pass to Gordon in front of goal.

This time the England international made no mistake, with Elmali, a Turkiye international, lifting his arms to the heavens in an expression of powerlessness.

After 65 minutes Yamal cut in from his wing and fired a pass to replacement center-forward Gabriel Jesus. The ex-Arsenal man could not control the ball, but it deflected to Karim Adeyemi who drilled the ball home.

"When you see the chances Lamine creates in every training session, it's the same in matches," said Flick. "I have a lot of top-quality players. Everyone's watching Lamine — that's only natural."

Yamal could have scored himself, but after being quickest to a loose ball, he fired his shot over the bar.

The 19-year-old finished the game without a goal, which would have taken him closer to Kylian Mbappe's record for Champions League goals as a teenager, but Yamal, who became Barcelona's youngest-ever captain in the previous round, again took over the captain's armband when Pedri was replaced.

AFP