FC Barcelona to play Galatasaray in Europa League round of 16

Following Friday’s draw at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Barça have learned that their opponent in the round of 16 of the Europa League will be Galatasaray. The first leg will be played at the Camp Nou on Thursday 10 March (9pm CET) and the return leg will be played in Istanbul seven days later on Thursday 17 March (6.45pm CET).

Between 1993 and 2003, Barça and the Turkish side met four times, in all cases in the group stages of the Champions League. The eight games produced five wins for Barça, two draws and just one win for Galatasaray.

This was a period when trips to Turkey were an almost annual affair for FC Barcelona, for Barça also shared groups with Beşiktaş and Fenerbahçe, yet curiously two decades have passed since then without Barça meeting a single team from the country. We’re finally off to Turkey again!

Familiar faces

‘Gala’ finished second in the Süper Lig last season, but 2021/22 is proving to be a very disappointing one for them. They are currently 13^th in the table and have recently appointed a new manager. And he’s a familar face at Camp Nou. The Catalan Domènec Torrent was assistant to Pep Guardiola both for Barça B and the senior team from 2007 to 2016.

The game will also be a re-encounter with Arda Turan, the Turkish international midfielder who played for Barça from 2015 to 2018, and goalkeeper Iñaki Peña, who Barça have loaned to the club until the end of the season.

Previous meetings

1993/94 Champions League Group A
Galatasaray 0-0 Barça
Barça 3-0 Galatasaray

1994/95 Champions League Group A
Barça 2-1 Galatasaray
Galatasaray 2-1 Barça

2001/02 Champions League Group B
Barça 2-2 Galatasaray
Galatasaray 0-1 Barça

2002/03 Champions League Group H
Galatasaray 0-2 Barça
Barça 3-1 Galatasaray

The other round of 16 games

Rangers v Red Star Belgrade
Sevilla v West Ham
Braga v Monaco
Porto v Olympique Lyonnais
RB Leipzig v Spartak Moscow
Atalanta v Bayer Leverkusen
Betis v Eintracht Frankfurt

Galatasaray's road to the last 16

Third Qualifying Round
Galatasaray beat St Johnstone (Scotland) 5-3 on aggregate

Play Off Round
Galatasaray beat Randers (Norway) 3-2 on aggregate

Group Stage
Galatasaray finished top of Group E ahead of Lazio (Italy), Marseille (France) and Lokomotiv Moscow (Russia)