Nightmare night for Barcelona in Istanbul: Catalans wake up to fireworks, boos and screams

Barcelona return to the Champions League after the victory over Getafe in the last week of the championship. For Flick's team, the next transfer is one of the most difficult, namely against Galatasaray in Turkey. In Istanbul, the Catalans will have to face an opponent who has players of high individual quality and, above all, with an atmosphere that has always been hell for opponents, creating an extremely fiery environment.

Barcelona got a first taste of this atmosphere last night, when several Galatasaray fans gathered outside the hotel where the Catalan team is staying in Istanbul. They stayed there from 01:00 until after 02:30 in the morning. Outside the hotel, checkers and fireworks were thrown, while there was constant shouting and shouting, which inevitably disturbed the sleep of the Barcelona players. Or, at least, that was the intention.

However, Barcelona is staying at the Raffles Istanbul, a five-star luxury hotel located in the Zorlu Center complex, one of the city's most exclusive shopping areas. For this reason, it is hard to imagine that the doors and windows were not soundproofed. After all, this is a facility where a night costs 1,000 euros.

Barcelona's figures and statistics before the match with Galatasaray

Barcelona are clearly one of the most feared teams in the Champions League and, along with several other teams, are the natural favorites to win the competition. For this reason, this trick has become a real weapon for fans in recent years, who try to deprive players of sleep. We have also seen similar scenes before Europa League or Conference League matches, precisely in an attempt to use any kind of strategy to unsettle their opponents.

After all, Barcelona comes into this match after nine consecutive victories in as many official matches of the 2026/2027 season, with a balance of 39 goals scored. Furthermore, Barcelona scored seven goals against Santander and then scored five goals in three matches, against Elche, Rayo Vallecano and Feyenoord. Absolutely impressive figures for a team that is undoubtedly difficult to beat and that does not seem to have any weak points.

Thus, Galatasaray fans repeated what had happened in 2022, when Barcelona faced the Turkish team in the 1/8 stage of the Europa League. On that occasion, the fireworks were launched around 04:00 in the morning, but the Catalan team was staying at the Ritz Hotel in Istanbul. A ritual that the fans wanted to repeat this time too, in the hope that they would have managed to distract them in some way…