No Romo for the Gala Match... From Uefa.com Riquelme misses Turkey trip Monday 23 September 2002 FC Barcelona's Juan Riquelme has been ruled out of tomorrow's UEFA Champions League Group H match against Galatasaray SK because of injury. Bad timing The attacking midfield player did not travel to Turkey after picking up the leg muscle injury during yesterday's training session. The injury comes as a blow to Riquelme after his promising second-half performance against RCD Espanyol on Saturday where he played just behind the strikers. Attacking force "I will always play anywhere. I always try to do the best for my team," the Argentinian said following Saturday's 2-0 win before adding that he found it a pleasure to play alongside players such as Javier Saviola or Patrick Kluivert.
(R) Now THAT was a great result. It would take a complete meltdown not to make it into the next round now. The defense in the final 1/3 of the match is still worrisome, and there isn't really anybody who can come off the bench right now to make a big difference. Hopefully Christanval and Andersson can come back so there are at least some options. No complaints today though! Congrats to Luis on his 100th goal in the blaugrana stripes. jc
You gotta love that we have gone into their stadium two times in a row now and win...not an easy task! I really wish this game had been on TV...have to settle for Skysports tonight at 7! Enrique is on fire lately. If this team can get it's defense playing toegther and not have those lapses, we could be on to something here.
The way Lucho is performing would be comparable to what Makaay did for Depor in league and UCL!!! congrats on his 100th goal!!! I didn't see the match cuz i got Milan live and later ManU, but I already saw the highlights, pretty good that colombian keeper Mondragón!!!
Match Report from Uefa.com Luis Enrique pulls Barça's strings Tuesday 24 September 2002 Galatasaray SK 0-2 FC Barcelona Luis Enrique scored his 100th goal for FC Barcelona as the Catalan giants took charge of UEFA Champions League Group H with a deserved 2-0 victory against Galatasaray SK at the Ali Sami Yen stadium. Commanding position Having started their European campaign with a 3-2 defeat of Club Brugge KV last week, Barça are now in a thoroughly commanding position thanks to another impressive performance against the Turkish side, who looked a pale shade of the team which defeated FC Lokomotiv Moskva 2-0 in Russia on Matchday One. First-half lead Barça took the lead when Patrick Kluivert drilled past Faryd Mondragon to score his second goal of the season, the Dutchman receiving the ball from Thiago Motta and turning quickly to find the perfect angle to shoot. Ten minutes later, the Dutch striker should have doubled the lead when he was unmarked inside the box, but he headed over the bar after an excellent cross from Gaizka Mendieta. Brazilians combine Galatasaray started well enough, with Brazilian duo Jorge Felipe and João Batista combining well in midfield and creating the majority of the Turkish side's attacks. Jorge Felipe fired a stinging shot wide on 16 minutes and almost put through compatriot Christian on several occasions. The Rabbit miscues As the game developed, however, Barça gained more control and Javier Saviola found he had more space to make his darting runs, his shot from the edge of the box on 30 minutes needing slightly more power to trouble Mondragon. With seconds to go before the break, the diminutive Argentinian, known as 'The Rabbit' in his homeland, spun his marker with a deft touch but blasted over. Seventh heaven But. in the 59th minute, Luis Enrique marked what was his 250th appearance for the visitors with his seventh goal of the season, jumping powerfully to nod the ball over on-rushing Colombian keeper Mondragon. The goal had been rehearsed just seconds earlier when Kluivert headed over the bar from an identical corner delivered by Brazilian Motta. Strike on the cards The second strike had always looked likely, as Luis Enrique came out after the interval determined to make his class tell, dominating the left side of the pitch with incisive passes and probing running. There was little Galatasaray could do to hold him back. Motta, only playing because Argentinian midfield player Juan Riquelme was injured in training on Sunday, proved a menace on the other side too, wasting no chance to push forward and almost getting on the scoresheet himself with a shot from inside the box. Spurned chances The hosts had their opportunities to get back into the game after the break but managed to spurn them, Ümit Karan screwing a header off target from a free-kick late on and Hasan Sas firing wide to sum up a disappointing display.