Galatasaray vs Barcelona Player Ratings, GS 1-4 BAR: Yamal provides two assists in Istanbul

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. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Barcelona recovered from a goal down to beat Galatasaray 4-1 in the UEFA Champions League 2026-27 as star boy and World Cup-winner Lamine Yamal set up two goals at the Rams Park in Istanbul on Tuesday.

With this win, the Catalans share the lead in the UCL standings with Arsenal and Sporting Lisbon, all having won both of their matches thus far. The Turkish giant, meanwhile, languishes near the bottom without a point.

Despite the Spanish outfit dominating opening exchanges, it was the host which broke the deadlock through Russian Aleksei Batrakov, whose attempt caught a deflection off Joao Cancelo and nestled into the goal.

Just before the half-time break, Cancelo equalised as he turned in Dani Olmo’s pass. Then, Yamal pulled the strings in the second half as he assisted Fermin Lopez to help Barca take the lead.

Three minutes later, Yamal beat Eren Elmali three times, and in three different ways, in a tiny space before rolling a pass to Gordon, who scored. The Spanish teenager then set up Karim Adeyemi’s goal to put the contest beyond doubt.

Galatasaray vs Barcelona player ratings

Galatasaray: Çakir (6.3), Yılmaz (4.9), Sánchez (4.7), Jakobs (5.6), Elmalı (5.8), Torreira (5.5), Lemina (5.9), Akgün (6.3), Batrakov (7.4), Leão (7.4), Osimhen (5.8)

Substitutes: Sara (6.3), Ugochukwu (6.1), Sané (6.2), Sallai (6.4), Nhaga (NA)

Barcelona: García (7.7), Cubarsí (7.0), Martín (7.2), Cancelo (8.5), Rodri (7.6), Pedri (7.5), Lamine Yamal (9.0), López (8.0), Gordon (8.4), Olmo (8.0), Eric Garcia (7.4)

Substitutes: Jesus (7.0), Adeyemi (7.4), Koundé (6.2), Bernal (6.5), Gavi (6.0)