Galatasaray 1-2 Barcelona (1-2 agg): Pedri and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang seal Europa League progress

Jonathan Gorrie17 March 2022

Barcelona came from behind against Galatasaray to progress into the quarter-finals of the Europa League on Thursday evening.

A difficult night inside a hostile atmosphere was made worse just before the break when Marcao scored a bullet-header after Ryan Babel rolled back the years to win a corner.

In Babel and Bafetimbi Gomis, the home side looked to have the kind of direct thrusts to punish Barca, who were often guilty of giving the ball away in a sloppy first forty minutes or so.

Pedri, however, would soon turn on the style.

The Spanish international capped off a flowing team move excellently by almost taunting the Gala defence, offering feints to shoot and sitting down a number of defenders before rolling into the back of the net and restoring parity.

Where the first goal was one of real quality, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s eventual winner was as instinctive as they come. After Frenkie De Jong had headed across goal following a goalmouth scramble, the 32-year-old continued his good form with a ruthless finish from close range.

It wasn’t always pretty for Xavi Hernandez’s side but a professional job done.

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