Aubameyang, Pedri Score As Barcelona Overcome Stubborn Galatasaray to Reach Europa League Quarterfinal

• Galatasaray vs Barcelona saw the Catalan giants put up a daunting performance to claim victory in Turkey
• The first leg had ended 0-0 at the Camp Nou and Xavi's men knew they needed to lift their game if they hope to progress in the Europa League
• The Spanish side came from behind to claim victory following stunning strikes by Pedri and Aubameyang

Barcelona are through to the quarter-final of this season's Europa League after putting up a spectacular performance to defeat Galatasaray 2-1 in Turkey.

The first leg of this fixture had ended goalless at the Camp Nou as Xavi's men failed to take advantage of their home support, setting up a mouthwatering reverse fixture in Istanbul.

But the Catalan giants had to come from behind to win the game courtesy of an equaliser by Pedri, before Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang secured the win.

Both teams started well and signalled their intent early on. Barcelona pressed high and looked to put pressure on Galatasaray, with the home side seemingly fine with sitting back and hitting on the counter.

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It was Galatasaray that opened the scoring in the 28th minute after a corner was swung in and captain Marcao got his head on it and powered the ball past Ter Stegen to send the New Stadium rocking.

The visitors responded nine minutes later as Pedri levelled the game. Ferran slid the ball into the midfielder, and he showed great composure, delaying the shot before blasting low past Pena. It was Barcelona's first shot on target.

At the start of the second half, Barcelona looked desperate for the lead forcing Pena to make two good saves to deny their opponents, before the ball dropped to Aubameyang who hit the net to give his side the lead 2-1.

In the latter stages of the game, Galatasaray came to life as Mohamed flashed a shot just off target, before Kerem got in behind the Barcelona defence and raced towards goal, but his cross to Morutan was too far ahead of the player and the away side breathe once more.

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And that was how it ended; Galatasaray 1-2 Barcelona.

Xavi sings praises of Aubameyang

Sports Brief earlier reported that Barcelona boss Xavi has described Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as a “gift that dropped from the sky” after the Gabon International scored again in the 4-0 rout against Osasuna on Sunday.

Aubameyang was on target with his side’s third goal in the first half after Ferran Torres scored twice for his side earlier on.

Riqui Puig then came off the bench to also get his name on the scoresheet as Barcelona cut the gap on second-placed Sevilla to 5 points with a game in hand.