VAR denies Osimhen goal as Barcelona beat Galatasaray 4-1

Victor Osimhen was denied a goal by VAR as Barcelona came from behind to defeat Galatasaray 4-1 in their UEFA Champions League encounter in Istanbul.

The Nigerian striker thought he had helped Galatasaray double their lead in the 34th minute when he rose to meet a corner, with Baris Alper Yilmaz diverting his header into the net. However, celebrations were cut short after a VAR review ruled out the goal for offside.

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The decision proved costly for the Turkish side, who had taken an early lead but eventually succumbed to a strong second-half performance from Hansi Flick’s team.

Barcelona’s victory gave them six points from their opening two league-phase matches, following their 5-1 win over Feyenoord in their opening fixture.

Barcelona started the match by dominating possession, but Galatasaray struck with their first significant attacking opportunity.

Rafael Leao drove down the left flank and cut the ball back for Aleksey Batrakov, whose effort found the bottom corner after taking a deflection off Joao Cancelo.

The hosts appeared to have strengthened their advantage when Osimhen rose to meet a corner and his header was diverted past Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia by Yilmaz.

However, the goal was disallowed following a VAR check, with the offside decision keeping Barcelona within one goal of their opponents.

The visitors took advantage of the reprieve two minutes before half-time when Dani Olmo directed the ball into Cancelo’s path, allowing the defender to curl a finish beyond goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir and level the score.

Barcelona took control after the restart, with Fermin Lopez heading home a cross from Lamine Yamal in the 50th minute to put the visitors ahead.

Three minutes later, Yamal produced an impressive piece of close control before setting up Anthony Gordon, who fired home his first Champions League goal for Barcelona.

The Spanish side continued to threaten after taking the lead, and substitute Karim Adeyemi completed the scoring when Gabriel Jesus touched a Yamal cross into his path, allowing him to finish from the left side of the penalty area.

The result extended Barcelona’s winning start to the Champions League league phase, while Galatasaray were left to reflect on the disallowed goal and their inability to contain the visitors after half-time.

Barcelona will next face Paris Saint-Germain in France on Tuesday, 20 October, while Galatasaray are scheduled to meet Lille on Wednesday, 21 October, as they seek their first win of the league phase.