Barcelona Prepares Cubarsi Plan Against Osimhen in Istanbul

Barcelona is preparing a defensive approach for Victor Osimhen before its UEFA Champions League meeting with Galatasaray, with Spanish outlet Diario AS highlighting Pau Cubarsi's previous success against the striker. The analysis focused on their earlier Napoli-Barcelona encounter and Cubarsi's role in limiting Osimhen. According to Milliyet, Galatasaray regained Osimhen after he returned from injury during the Kasımpaşa match, giving the Turkish club its forward ahead of the Barcelona fixture.

The report said Spanish media examined how Barcelona could use past experience to manage his threat. Diario AS recalled a Champions League match between Napoli and Barcelona two years earlier, when then-17-year-old Cubarsi was assigned to mark Osimhen. The Spanish publication described the assignment as a major challenge because Osimhen was already considered a high-level striker.

"In the second match of the Napoli-Barcelona tie, Xavi Hernández assigned 17-year-old Cubarsí the task of marking Osimhen. It was a risky move because although Cubarsí had already performed well for his team, facing a striker like Osimhen in the Champions League was a real challenge. Xavi's experiment could not have gone better.

Cubarsi marked the Nigerian player and delivered a magnificent performance, being named the player of the match in his first appearance in Europe's top competition. Cubarsi completed 63 of 67 attempted passes, finishing the match with a 94% pass completion rate." said Diario AS.

The Spanish outlet's report said Cubarsi's performance in that match became the reference point for Barcelona's preparations before facing Galatasaray. The defender's display was highlighted as a previous example of how the team handled Osimhen. Milliyet reported that Barcelona's visit to Galatasaray would take place in the Champions League season's second match. The fixture was scheduled to be played at RAMS Park, where Osimhen was expected to be among Galatasaray's key attacking options.