AfriPulse
October 21, (THEWILL) — Barcelona crushed Olympiacos 6-1 on Tuesday night in their third UEFA Champions League group phase fixture, returning to winning form with a dominant performance at home.
The Catalan side capitalised ruthlessly after the Greek visitors were reduced to 10 men following a competitive opening hour.
Fermín López led the charge with a hat trick, having opened his account with two first-half goals before completing the treble late in the match.
Marcus Rashford continued his excellent European campaign by netting twice, his second brace in the competition after a similar feat at Newcastle United the previous month.
Olympiacos remained in contention until the hour mark, but the dismissal of one of their players shifted the contest decisively in Barcelona’s favour.
The hosts benefited from favourable officiating decisions, though their clinical finishing in the final stages left no doubt about the outcome.
Manager Flick took advantage of the comfortable scoreline to rest key players in preparation for Saturday’s crucial El Clásico clash.
The substitutions allowed several regular starters to conserve energy ahead of the domestic showdown.
The emphatic victory provided Barcelona with the perfect platform heading into their weekend fixture, restoring confidence after recent setbacks in Europe.
The margin of victory and the opportunity to rotate the squad made it an ideal evening for the Spanish giants.
Author Profile
Jude Obafemi, THEWILL
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
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