Three takeaways from Barcelona 6-1 Olympiacos

A Fermin Lopez hat-trick, a Marcus Rashford brace and a goal from Lamine Yamal helped Barcelona to a 6-1 win over Olympiacos last night in the UEFA Champions League, taking the team to six points after three games and getting them back on track after the defeat to PSG.

The game was far from as one-sided as the scoreline suggests, for it was only a flurry of goals after Olympiacos were reduced to ten men that allowed such a massive lead.

Before that, however, Barcelona were only leading by a one-goal margin and were under pressure after the visitors pulled one back after going 2-0 down.

There are positives and negatives for the manager to take from the game, with the likes of Fermin, Rashford and Pedri looking good and others, including Lamine Yamal and Jules Kounde, still looking tangibly away from their best.

The win, however, gives Barcelona three points and much-needed momentum ahead of El Clasico in what is massive for the dressing room.

Barça Universal brings you three takeaways from Barcelona 6-1 Olympiacos.

La Masia has produced some of the most technical midfielders the game has ever seen, and the academy is unsurprisingly associated with that profile of players in the department.

It is not often, after all, that an elite goalscoring midfielder comes up the academy ranks. Fermin Lopez, however, is one such rare phenomenon of La Masia who boasts a ridiculous ball-striking ability.

Last night, the young midfielder turned up in style, and his hat-trick was the highlight of the night. Such was his form that it is barely believable that he is just coming back from injury.

Lopez opened the scoring on the night with a well-worked finish with his weak foot and made it 2-0 for the team when Dro found him in between the lines, and he took the ball past the defence and shot from a convenient angle.

His hat-trick eventually was completed when he struck a stunning volley off Roony Bardghji’s assist late in the game, helping him take home the match ball and be crowned the MVP.

Apart from his hat-trick, Fermin was a handful for Olympiacos with his combination play, movement in between the lines and box presence and Barcelona could not have hoped for a better time for him to find his stride. At this point, he is a clear favourite ahead of Dani Olmo.

The moment that opened the floodgates. (Photo by Judit Cartiel/Getty Images)

Just when Olympiacos scored and pulled one back on the night, they were handed a massive blow as their midfielder Santiago Hezze was given his marching orders, leaving them at a numerical disadvantage.

It was a foul on Marc Casado that earned him the second yellow just before the hour mark, but truth be told, there was no second yellow warranted for that foul.

There is no denying that the player did catch Casado, but the Barcelona player, too, was holding him back. A foul, thus, was warranted, but Barcelona were fortunate to have gained a numerical advantage for such a trivial foul.

When one looks back on the game, it is clear that the red card was the defining moment as it helped open the floodgates and took Barcelona from a nervy 2-1 to a dominant 6-1. In hindsight, however, that advantage was unfair and unwarranted.

Despite the 6-1 scoreline, Barcelona’s performance last night was not quite up to the mark, and the Catalans were indeed far from their best as there were phases in the game where Olympiacos threatened them.

What the result does bring, however, is momentum ahead of El Clásico – something Hansi Flick’s side were in desperate need of.

The Blaugrana have not quite hit the same gear they were in last season yet, and the press has been relatively underwhelming – handing opponents chances to break on the counter and outdo the offside trap.

With a big game against Real Madrid coming up, it is clear that the nature of the game will push every player to give their 100% and press well.

What the team needed, however, was a morale booster to lift their spirits and make them believe they still have the quality to register a clinical win.

In that sense, the win last night comes at the perfect time as it hands Barcelona their first comprehensive win of the season and the momentum ahead of the weekend’s Clásico .