What is the story about?
Barcelona
returned to winning ways in Europe in emphatic fashion thanks to a dominant 6-1 win over Greek champions Olympiacos in their third Champions League match of the season to temporarily return to the Top 8 in the League Phase standings. The Blaugrana dominated from start to finish and opened the floodgates in the second half, and a hat-trick by Fermín López along with a brace by Marcus Rashford led the Catalans to three crucial points and a big confidence boost ahead of El Clásico.
Reactions & Observations
- That wasn’t a perfect game and there were some silly mistakes in the buildup at the back at times from players who don’t usually make those mistakes, but that was undoubtedly the best team performance we’ve seen in a month.
- A mostly serious question: is Fermín López the best left-footed finisher in the squad despite being right-footed? He literally scored a hat-trick with his “weaker foot” and honestly looks like he prefers to strike the ball with his left.
- DRO FERNÁNDEZ!!! Oh my goodness. Hansi Flick started him on the left instead of the number 10 spot as he did in his first start of the season a few weeks ago, and that was an inspired choice: Dro was amazing with more freedom and space to work with, using his skills and quick passing to get an assist and get involved in every good move Barça had while he was on the pitch. Tremendous hour by the 17-year-old.
- Marcus Rashford, Dro and Fermín did a wonderful job of confusing the Olympiacos defense with their constant positional interchanges. It was hard to know where each of them would be at any given time, so it was harder to mark them. That type of flexibility is very important against low blocks, and it helped Barça break down the Greek defense early and often in the first half.
- Barça’s pressing was a solid as we’ve seen in a while. It wasn’t nearly as aggressive or desperate which led to bad mistakes in previous games, but instead it was well-timed and well-organized and the back four was more concerned with anticipating long balls and running back instead of trying to force offsides. Good progress and a good example of how Flick can adjust the defense without abandoning the high line completely.
- What a couple of goals by Rashford! Such a gorgeous snapshot to catch the goalkeeper off-guard for his first, and the control and finish for the second were outrageous. Great assist by Pedri too.
- Olympiacos midfielder Hezze was a little unlucky to get the second yellow card that led to his sending off, but you can’t swing your arm near a player’s face, make contact, even if it’s marginal, and get away with it.
- Barça get a +5 in their goal difference with this win which is very important considering how tight the Top 8 race figures to be this season, and seeing the attack go back to its usual devastating form is a good omen ahead of El Clásico.
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