Barcelona 6-1 Olympiakos
Olympiakos started the game on the front foot, with some initial pressure, but Barcelona responded well with an effort over the bar from Marcus Rashford’s knee. Just seven minutes old were on the clock when Barcelona took the lead, Balde escaping the Greek press, and finding Fermin Lopez in space. He left Lamine Yamal behind, and when he rounded the attacker, Lopez took over to cut the ball past the defenders on the line.
Sailing was easy to predict after that, but there was anything but it. Olympiakos outplayed Barcelona in spots, and worked their way back into the game, giving the home team a head start. Just as the pace of the game was dropping though, Barcelona came up with a crushing punch.
https://twitter.com/barcacentre/status/1980513527627674085?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Much has been made of Barcelona’s pressing late on, but it was crucial in their second half, as Pedri slotted a pass through the middle. Dr Fernandez turned, walked, waited, was released into the atmosphere of Lopez to pour the goal, cut and finish. That made life a lot more comfortable by getting into the segment.
Barcelona Blitz Olympiakos after a red card
Just as the first half saw a lot of action in the opening stages, so did the second. Olimpiakos had the ball in the net with Ayoub El Kaabi after a surprising additional protection from the blaugrana, but after a var review, both finances were found. The Moroccan striker hit the ball against the post, beating szczesny, and unleashing the proverbial cat among the Catalan pigeons.
Olympiakos manager Jose Luis Mendilibar was furious five minutes later, when Santiago Hezze saw a second yellow. Fighting Marc Casado with the ball, the open arm of the exit caught Barcelona a little in the face, but it was enough to book. From there, things fell apart for Olimpiakos.
A great exchange between Lopez and Rashford got this behind, and he beat Konstantinos Tzolakis to the ball, leading to the field. Lamine Yamal stepped up to curl the ball down the middle. That was the start of a run of four goals in 11 minutes, and Rashford was close to getting his own. The ball at the back was returned to Rashford, and he raised his foot, waited, and deceived Tzolakis at the near post, with a move reminiscent of Ronaldinho.
Two minutes later, Lopez would complete his hat-trick – his trick after being fired by Roony Bardhji hit his marker to the line, after going down to Lamine Yamal. There was never any doubt that he would be taking his first home run of the game as he walked the tightrope to finish in the corner. Rashford had a chance to score that ball, but he only had three minutes to wait before scoring. Gerard Martin won the ball back in midfield, and scored a superb pass behind Rashford. It allowed his first touch to take him inside a defender, and Rashford’s second to beat Tzolakis at the post again.
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A tricky result for Barcelona, who had been in the game until the hour mark, but given the number of strong encounters they were involved in late, the release of the reception. Their defense won’t inspire much confidence, but the coust they sent to Olympiakos will inspire confidence, and it was a reminder of what an in-tune Blaugrana can look like with Hanpi Flick. Next up, Real Madrid on Sunday.