Barcelona bounce back from PSG disappointment, running riot against Olympiacos to boost goal difference.
Barcelona ran riot against Olympiacos, beating them 6-1 thanks to a Fermin Lopez hat-trick and a Marcus Rashford brace.
The Blaugrana suffered a defeat in the previous match week, a 2-1 loss to Paris Saint-Germain. Intent on bouncing back, they started brilliantly against Olympiacos, and finished even stronger.
Key match details
From kickoff, Barcelona set the tempo, dominating possession and probing, as Olympiacos sat compact in defence and tried to hit on the counter.
They scored the opener in the seventh minute thanks to a sweeping team move. Lopez released Yamal, who teed it off for the Olympic champion after beating two players. Fermin squeezed the ball past multiple Olympiacos bodies to give Barcelona the lead.
Fermin’s made it two in the 38th minute. He was released by 17-year-old Dro Fernandes, sat his marker down before rifling the ball home.
Olympiacos enjoyed a brief resurgence early in the second half. In the 52nd minute, they were awarded a penalty when a Barça defender brought down El Kaabi in the box; El Kaabi stepped up and calmly converted, pulling the visitors back into contention at 2-1.
The momentum looked to be shifting, but Barcelona responded sharply. Around the 57th minute, Olympiacos received a red card after Santiago Hezze was shown a second yellow for a reckless challenge on Yamal, reducing the Greek side to ten men.
Barcelona capitalised on the numerical advantage. In the 67th minute Yamal converted from the spot after Rashford was fouled in the box, making it 3-1.
López then completed his hat-trick in the 76th minute, after a slick dribbling action from Roony Bardghi, before Rashford added to his tally in the 79th minute.
The result boosted Barcelona’s goal difference in the Champions League group phase following a 2-1 defeat to PSG last matchweek, which reduced their margin of error in a bid to finish among the top eight.
