ANKARA

Barcelona came from behind to beat Galatasaray 2-1 on Thursday evening and booked their spot in the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals.

The Turkish side made a promising start in the second leg at Istanbul’s Nef Stadium, with striker Bafetimbi Gomis denied a sixth-minute opener by a key block in the box by Spanish defender Jordi Alba.

Four minutes later, Frenkie De Jong wasted a great chance to put Barcelona ahead, rifling a shot from close range wide of Inaki Pena’s post.

Galatasaray captain Marcao headed in from a corner kick to break the deadlock in the 28th minute.

A brilliant solo goal from Pedri, who beat two defenders in the penalty area before slotting a low shot into the net, wiped out the lead less than 10 minutes later.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang rattled the crossbar with a header in the last action of the first half, which ended at 1-1.

Four minutes into the second period, Pena made two good blocks to deny Barcelona, but could do nothing as the second dropped to Aubameyang, who found the net from six yards out.

That proved to be the winner for Barcelona, who qualified for the quarterfinals with a 2-1 aggregate win.

Rangers, Atalanta and Braga also booked their places in the Europa League quarterfinals on Thursday evening.

RB Leipzig automatically qualified for the next round as their last 16 tie versus Russia’s Spartak Moscow was canceled by UEFA due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Europa League Round of 16 results:

Crvena zvezda - Rangers: 2-1 (aggregate 2-4)

Monaco - Braga: 1-1 (aggregate 1-3)

Bayer Leverkusen - Atalanta: 0-1 (aggregate 2-4)

Galatasaray - Barcelona: 1-2 (aggregate 1-2)