Barcelona have successfully made it to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League however, it was not an easy process at all and Galatasaray should be given a round of applause for their immense performance. Going into the first leg of the fixture, not many thought that the Turkish side would even stand a chance against the Spanish giants. While Barca are not the strongest team in the world anymore, they are showing great signs under Xavi Hernandez, so for Galatasaray to hold them off to a 0-0 draw in the first leg was quite impressive.
In the second leg, it would be quite tough for Barca since they were now going to go to the enemy’s turf. The Turkish side had the same gameplan which was to defend in numbers and then hit out on the counter. This time, however, the Catalans broke down their defence quite early and quite easily. A simple through ball to Frenkie de Jong saw him go one on one with Inaki Pena however, the Dutch player could not keep his composure and hit it just wide of the post. Marcão then scored a goal for Galatasary against the run of play through a well-taken corner.
Barcelona manages to get through to the Quarter-finals of the Europa League
Barca did not waste much time though and got back into the game 10 minutes later through an exquisite goal by Pedri. The movement by the youngster and the composure shown by him in front of the goalkeeper and the defenders was just too good and the finish was brilliant as well. It was a goal truly for the history books. The second goal was also coming as Barca did have almost 70 per cent of possession and ten shots more than their opposition. The second goal came from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who continued his great form. There was a bit of luck attached to the goal as Pena did make two good saves but could not hold on to the ball which let Aubameyang score from close range. Barca ultimately won the game 2-1 and they move on to the quarterfinals.
The Catalans are now definitely the favourites to win the league and we will be anxiously waiting for the Quarter-finals draw which will take place tomorrow.