Pedri
went down to hell because he wanted to dance.
With a slight wobble he knocked a defender to the ground.
With another silent step he knocked over another.
Time had stopped and the furious Galatasaray fans, disconcerted by their excess, could only expose themselves to the torture of an angel.
Pedri did not shoot, he lulled the ball and lodged it in the goal.
They will think it was just the draw.
But Galatasaray, who started gaining the lead, who longed to somehow take advantage of the 0-0 first leg, were left without knowing what to do no matter how much their fans spent the second half throwing objects.
Aubameyang would be the one to complete the comeback for a Barcelona that is already in the quarterfinals of the Europa League.
At the entrances to the stadium, all those wooden planks that served the fans to roast meat for hours had stopped burning.
A path of rudimentary bonfires that marked the way to the top of a hill that, in reality, was hell turned into a soccer field.
But the burning smell didn't go away.
It still enveloped the stands.
It was strong and with a strange intoxicating effect.
Fuel for a hobby that, fists raised and hearts in their mouths, set out to fulfill the extreme passion that defines them.
Although Xavi tried to combat all that in his own way.
He got rid of his two most combative footballers from the start, Araujo and Gavi, so that there would be no other protagonist than the ball.
The absence of the youth squad for Frenkie de Jong to enter always stings given the magnitude of the Sevillian's deployment.
Araujo's substitution was more understandable, and perhaps it had little to do with the classic dispute against Real Madrid next Sunday.
The difficulties in getting the ball out of the Uruguayan were exploited by Galatasaray in the first leg.
So much so that Domènec Torrent ordered to cover all the players except him.
Xavi prevented that trick from being repeated, and drew a triangle with Busquets, Piqué and Eric García that ensured him advance without losing his head.
It was precisely Eric that Galatasay decided to float, so the center-back had to take full responsibility for the build.
Nothing can be reproached for the former City footballer in terms of his creative conditions, especially in the vertical pass.
Where he still has a lot of room for improvement is defensive correction.
Gomis, in his only appearance, won his back too easily on the first big occasion of the night.
With Ter Stegen sunk in the goal, it had to be Jordi Alba, swift, who avoided the goal.
Frenkie de Jong was also too close to opening the night.
The Dutchman, who sought a certain role by expanding his radius of action towards the area, found himself in a one-on-one with Iñaki Peña after being enabled by Busquets.
De Jong must have seen it very easily.
Not so much his left loot, which fatally hit the ball.
Barcelona tried to avoid Galatasaray's counterattacks by moving their defensive line towards the very center of the field.
A Kerem Aktürkoglu, the most skilled player of the Turks, was more concerned not to be caught offside than to exhibit his great potential.
Where the azulgrana team was not attentive was in the corner kick that led to the first goal against.
Ferran Torres, who had just been scolded by Alba for not helping him in a mark, stayed in Babia before Marcao's shot on goal.
Before the uncontrolled jubilation of the fans, crowded uncontrollably on the stadium stairs, the center-back saw fit to destroy the corner flag in his histrionic celebration.
Who was preparing to finish corrupting the tie was Aubameyang, who had already finished the first act heading the crossbar.
Already in the second half, which began with Dembélé replacing an invaluable Adama, the Gabonese continued with his goalscoring good fortune.
He first deflected a shot from Busquets, which Iñaki Peña opposed with his foot.
The Galatasay goalkeeper, who insists on returning to Barcelona to the beat of his stops, then stopped Pedri.
But the goalkeeper could do nothing before the third attempt.
De Jong assisted Aubameyang placidly, and the battering ram had nothing more to do.
It couldn't be easy to defend with the ball against a Galatasaray whose fans demanded to get up.
Although he was throwing everything to the field.
Plastic bottles, cups, anything went.
The problems accumulated, with Dest and Piqué leaving injured three days before the classic and Aktürkoglu threatening.
But Barcelona, who saw how Ferran Torres ended up on the crossbar, was able to resist.
Because the ball was his.
Because the ball does not burn in hell.
Conforms to The Trust Project criteria
Know more
FC Barcelona
Xavi Hernandez
Europa LeagueXavi, between confidence and caution: "There are many options to do something great, but we have to be humble"
Europa LeagueBarcelona - Galatasaray, Seville - West Ham and Betis - Eintracht in the round of 16 of the Europa League
Europa LeagueBarcelona stands up in Europe
See links of interest
Last News
Translator
Time change 2022
What
Work calendar 2022
Best Colleges 2022
Lille-Chelsea
Juventus-Villarreal
Indian Wells: Rafa Nadal - Reilly Opelka, live
Arsenal-Liverpool
Galatasaray - Barcelona