Barcelona went to RAMS Park for the 20:00 BST kick-off without Raphinha, who had a hamstring problem from the international break, and Frenkie de Jong, as ESPN reported before the match. Hansi Flick started Joan García in goal, Pau Cubarsí in central defense, Rodri and Pedri in midfield and Dani Olmo in a front three with Anthony Gordon and Yamal. Galatasaray lined up 4-2-3-1 with Ugurcan Çakir in goal and Victor Osimhen and Rafael Leão in attack.
How Barcelona turned it around in Istanbul
Galatasaray, with 29% of the ball, scored first on the counterattack. Barcelona then took control after the 43rd minute:
- 28' Galatasaray 1-0 Barcelona: Alexey Batrakov, a right-footed shot from the center of the box into the bottom left corner, set up by Rafael Leão on a fast break.
- 43' Galatasaray 1-1 Barcelona: João Cancelo, a right-footed shot from the left side of the box into the bottom right corner, assisted by Dani Olmo.
- 50' Galatasaray 1-2 Barcelona: Fermín López, a header from the center of the box after a Lamine Yamal corner.
- 53' Galatasaray 1-3 Barcelona: Anthony Gordon, a right-footed finish from the right side of the six-yard box, again set up by Yamal.
- 65' Galatasaray 1-4 Barcelona: Karim Adeyemi, a left-footed shot from the left side of the box into the center of the goal, six minutes after coming on.
According to the ESPN match report, Gordon's goal was his first in the Champions League for Barcelona, and the win kept Flick's side perfect at 10 wins from 10 games this season in all competitions, including all eight in the Spanish top flight. Yamal's two assists came in the space of three minutes, the first from a corner and the second from open play.
Where the game turned
The first came before the equalizer. Galatasaray had a second goal ruled out before the break: Baris Alper Yilmaz's close-range header was disallowed for offside after a VAR review, according to ESPN's match summary. Instead of 2-0, the score stayed 1-0, and Cancelo leveled shortly before half-time.
The second came straight after the restart, when Barcelona scored twice in four minutes. Galatasaray replied with a triple substitution in the 58th minute: Lesley Ugochukwu for Mario Lemina, Gabriel Sara for Batrakov and Leroy Sané for Yunus Akgün. Flick made his own changes at the same time, bringing on Gabriel Jesus for Olmo in the 58th and Adeyemi for Gordon in the 59th. Adeyemi's goal made it 4-1.
Flick made further changes: Jules Koundé replaced Eric García and Marc Bernal replaced Pedri in the 73rd minute, and Gavi came on for Fermín López in the 82nd. Galatasaray lost Lucas Torreira to an injury in the 81st minute, with Renato Nhaga taking his place. Leão was booked in the 64th minute and Roland Sallai, a 67th-minute substitute for Yilmaz, in the 86th. Barcelona finished without a card, and the game had neither a sending-off nor a penalty.
The numbers behind Barcelona's comeback
| Stat | Galatasaray | Barcelona |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 29% | 71% |
| Shots | 5 | 22 |
| Shots on target | 3 | 11 |
| Corners | 1 | 6 |
| Fouls | 12 | 10 |
| Yellow cards | 2 | 0 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
| Offsides | 8 | 7 |
| Goalkeeper saves | 6 | 2 |
| Passes (completed) | 273 (202) | 689 (625) |
Barcelona had 22 shots to Galatasaray's five and 11 on target to three. Çakir made six saves and still conceded four; Joan García had two saves to make. Barcelona completed 91% of 689 passes, Galatasaray 74% of 273. Galatasaray were caught offside eight times, Barcelona seven, and the visitors won six corners to one.
Where it leaves Barcelona and Galatasaray
Barcelona have six points from two league-phase games, with two wins, nine goals scored and two conceded. They opened with a 5-1 home win over Feyenoord on matchday 1. Galatasaray have no points from two games, after losing 3-1 at Sporting CP in their opener, and have scored two goals and conceded seven. With all 18 matchday 2 games played by the end of Wednesday, Barcelona were second in the 36-team league-phase table, level with Paris Saint-Germain on six points and a plus-seven goal difference but behind them on goals scored, nine to 10. Galatasaray were 35th, above only Slovan Bratislava, after two of the eight league-phase games. Our Atlético Madrid v Manchester United report covers another of Tuesday's games.
What's next: Barcelona at PSG, Galatasaray at Lille
- Barcelona: away at Paris Saint-Germain, Tuesday 20 October 2026, 20:00 BST.
- Galatasaray: away at Lille, Wednesday 21 October 2026, 17:45 BST.
ESPN noted that Barcelona were due at Real Betis in LaLiga on Saturday before the trip to Paris, and Galatasaray also had a league game first. Barcelona's domestic standing is on the LaLiga table, and the LaLiga simulator lets you play out the rest of the Spanish season.
Method and sources: the timeline and the stats table are ESPN's match data for the game; the league-phase records and positions are our count of ESPN full-time results, three points for a win and clubs level on points ranked by goal difference and then goals scored. The extra detail is from the ESPN match report and ESPN's pre-match team news, and neither manager's post-match comments were available to us when we wrote it.