Rodri's warning after 4-1 romp over Galatasaray: those "10 crazy minutes" need fixing for the Champions League

Ten for ten. That's how Rodri has been counting matches since he arrived this summer, and the streak stayed intact after Barcelona thrashed Galatasaray 4-1, with Lamine Yamal picking up the man of the match award. But the midfielder didn't just dwell on the result, he also flagged the stretch of the game that, in his view, the team still needs to fix if it wants to seriously compete for the Champions League.

The match didn't start the way it ended. Barcelona came out on top early, dominating possession and creating clear chances, until a run from Rafael Leao and his cross into the box let Aleksey Batrakov make it 1-0. Shortly after, Victor Osimhen thought he'd scored the second, but VAR ruled it out for an offside position. That's exactly when, with the scoreboard against them and the game slipping out of control, Barcelona went through its most uncomfortable minutes of the night.

Rodri's warning

"We're at 10 for 10, we're in a good moment, but we're always looking at what we can improve. There are things to work on: the first one they had went in, and in that sense we have to get better and we have to learn," the midfielder began. He wasn't trying to take anything away from the rout, but rather putting his finger on something very specific: how the team handles pressure moments.

We needed to attack more slowly, if you lose the ball they transition quickly and those are games you have to manage with a bit more maturity, but the team showed a lot of character.Rodri

The world champion was even more specific about what needs polishing ahead of the matchups to come: "In the Champions League these are going to be very tough games and we have to be ready for every kind of scenario. The message is clear: those 10 crazy minutes we went through after conceding the goal, we need to stay calmer, that's the lesson we're taking from this." It was Rodri, alongside Pedri, who took charge of slowing the tempo in midfield so the team could regain control and steer the comeback. The result: a Barcelona side that now has a perfect 6 for 6 in the Champions League phase.

Pedri, the same diagnosis

The Canary Islander, Rodri's partner in midfield, echoed his teammate's reading almost point for point: "I think in the first half we had the ball, but we rushed things a lot of times trying to play that final pass." That eagerness to speed things up, both explained, is what opened the door to Batrakov's goal and to the chaotic minutes that worried Rodri so much.

Pedri, for his part, couldn't finish the match and asked to be substituted himself. After the game, he explained why: "My stomach hurt a bit, I wasn't feeling great, and the best thing was to ask to come off and let a fresh teammate come on from the bench." Nothing serious, just a discomfort he preferred not to push through on a night when the team, despite the scares, ended up cruising to the three points.