On the heels of its 4-2 playoff tie win over Napoli, Barcelona will now meet Turkish side Galatasaray in the Europa League round of 16.
After an opening half of the season that was filled with lowly results, Barcelona has now churned out keen performances in all competitions. The Catalan side scored four goals in the La Liga fixtures against Atletico Madrid and Valencia, which was then followed up by the four-goal outing in the Europa League playoff second leg win over Napoli. All in all, Barca has gradually turned around its season at just the right time.
On the other hand, Galatasaray comes into this match in the midst of a horrid campaign in Super Lig play, as it sits in 13th place in the standings. Barring a late surge, the Turkish side will miss out on playing European football next season. At the least, the side did orchestrate multiple promising performances in the Europa League group stage in the first half of the season, but it is now under the managerial reign of Domenec Torrent Font.
For Barca to clinch a spot in the Europa League quarterfinals, manager Xavi Hernandez will need a collective effort from his squad to achieve this feat. However, the La Liga powerhouse must have this talent rise to the occasion in the upcoming tie.
Barcelona's X-factor in Europa League round of 16
For Barcelona to avoid an upset Europa League elimination at the hands of Galatasaray, the side sure will need forward Ferran Torres to emerge as an X-factor in the tie.
Torres has had mixed results since arriving at Barca from Manchester City over the recent winter transfer window. The Spanish international has been a contributor in the goals department, which include five goal contributions in nine matches played in all competitions. However, much has been noted regarding his struggles in putting away high-percentage goal-scoring opportunities.
Whether via off-ball runs while inside the penalty box or from his sheer positioning while occupying space in the opponent’s defensive third, Torres has been able to provide himself with opportunities to get off key shot attempts. Still, he has not had much to go his way in this aspect of his game, which includes a mere one open play goal scored with Barca so far in the ongoing campaign. For one, he recorded seven off-target shots in the opening leg of Barca’s Europa League tie against Napoli. While he did well to link up with his attacking counterparts upfront and also found a multitude of open space in the Serie A side’s defensive third, he simply failed to put away all of his crucial goal-scoring chances in the open play.
Of course, Torres is not a one-dimensional winger, as he has found potent success in pushing up play into the opponent’s defensive third and also in creating keen goal-scoring chances for teammates.
Torres well recognizes he can be an all-around contributor in Barca’s attack.
“I am on the right path because goal-scoring is about streaks, sometimes it goes in, other times not,” Torres said ahead of the La Liga fixture against Elche. “The key is to be consistent, be right mentally. When one goes in, they all will go in – you have to be positive.”
“There is a lot of focus on goals but it’s not all about that. I think I am bringing a lot of things to the team.
“It’s true that I am an attacking player but there are other factors such as helping defensively, creating goals, link up play… that’s all important too.”
More so, Xavi has seen just how the forward can be a vital talent when he is not on the end of shot attempts himself.
“The work he provides and how he works for the team, how he associates with his teammates,” Xavi said ahead of the recent La Liga fixture against Athletic Bilbao. “We are talking about a player of top level, perhaps he’s the one who has surprised me the most. I liked him before, he’s a fantastic signing. Of course, we want goals from him. But I can tell you he’s a marvelous football player.”
Overall, Galatasaray manager Font has rolled out a notable 4-2-3-1 formation in his early run at the club. Regardless of who will be starting for the Turkish side out at the right-back position in both matches, Torres sure will need to make the most out of his goal-scoring chances in the tie, and he must also exert an influence upfront as a playmaker.
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