Premiership: Barcelona make it to last eight

Galatasaray 0 Barcelona 1

Luis Enrique’s 58th-minute goal proved enough for Barcelona to top Group B and book their place in the last eight of the Champions League.

The Spanish international was on hand to score from close range after home keeper Faryd Mondragon had spilled Fabio Rochemback’s long-range effort.

Gala, needing to win to stand any chance of progressing, pushed forward but were frustrated by the athleticism of Barcelona keeper Roberto Bonano.

And with Liverpool beating Roma 2-0 the Catalans took top spot going into the quarter-finals.

Barca currently lie a disappointing seventh in the Primera Liga but controlled the majority of the game with Rochemback outstanding in midfield.

The Brazilian, who was recalled to the side in a bid to add some strength in the centre of the park, nearly opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a terrific strike from outside the box.

Mondragon was equal to the task and made a wonderful save, diving high to his right-hand side.

Barca continued to press and winger Marc Overmars was denied a penalty after an apparent push from Emre Asik.

The hosts struggled to find any attacking fluency and their few forays forward were thwarted by an uncompromising defence which, despite missing the injured Frank de Boer, stood firm.

The tempo of the game changed, however, after Enrique’s goal.

After going ahead Barca seemed content to sit on what they had while Gala poured forward in search of two goals in the last 32 minutes.

They could have drawn level within a minute when Umit Karan seized on a mistake by Carles Puyol and lifted the ball over Bonano, only for Francesco Coco to head the ball off the line.

The hosts, roared on by a capacity crowd at the Ali Sami Yen stadium, came back again and Horia Niculescu was only denied by the outstretched boot of Puyol.

Patrick Kluivert almost doubled Barca’s advantage towards the end but it didn’t matter as the visitors hung on to become the first Spanish side to win at Galatasaray in 28 years.