Arda Turan, Gerard Pique Score To Lift Barcelona To 2-1, Come-From-Behind Win Over Borussia Mönchengladbach

Second-half goals from substitute Arda Turan and Gerard Pique gave Barcelona a thrilling, 2-1, come-from-behind victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach in UEFA Champions League play on Wednesday night at Borussia-Park.

Arda Turan, Gerard Pique Score To Lift Barcelona To 2-1 Win

The Catalans’ victory snapped the German hosts’ 11-game home winning streak. Barca now have two wins in as many Group C matches to top the standings, following their 7-0 thrashing of Celtic last week. The Spaniards have scored nine goals and allowed only one in the two games combined, and sit in first place in the Champions League table with six points, just two ahead of Manchester City.

The Bundesliga team took the lead, scoring against the run of play, with Thorgan Hazard firing home at the end of a break in the 34th minute.

Messi sat out for Barcelona with a groin injury, and was replaced by youngster Paco Alcacer. 

Mönchengladbach, meanwhile, have zero points, having lost both matches thus far. Manchester City tied with Celtic 3-3 in the other group match to stay second on four points.

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique started Andrés Iniesta, Javier Mascherano, Jordi Alba and Ivan Rakitic, all of whom were rested in the 5-0 rout of Sporting Gijon over the weekend.

Barca imposed themselves early on, recording their first scoring opportunity with Neymar’s shot from inside the box, which was saved by goalkeeper Yann Sommer after seven minutes.

The game also marked a homecoming for Barcelona’s 24-year-old German goalie Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who was facing the team in the city he spent his entire life, from the age of four until he joined Barca in the summer of 2014.

In the 65th minute, Barcelona tied the game when Neymar found Turan–who came in for Rakitic–in the Borussia area and the Turk volleyed off the bounce, sending the ball into the goal with a hard shot that produced a rattling sound from the metal stake used to hold up the upper back corner of the net.

Then in the 73rd, after Luis Suarez jumped to kick a 17-meter volley, Pique came in to give the Catalans the lead. Sandwiched between a pair of defenders, Pique slotted the rebound home from close range after a weak clearance by Sommer.

Barcelona next faces Celta Vigo on Sunday in a La Liga matchup, while Gladbach will next play Schalke in Sunday’s Bundesliga game.

GIJON, SPAIN – SEPTEMBER 24: Arda Turan of FC Barcelona celebrates after scoring his team’s fourth goal during the La Liga match between Real Sporting de Gijon and FC Barcelona at Estadio El Molinon on September 24, 2016 in Gijon, Spain. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

Article by Pablo Mena