Report: Barcelona battle Olympiakos for an hour before six-goal annihilation – Football España

Barcelona 6-1 Olympiakos

Olympiakos started the game on the front foot, with some early pressure, but Barcelona responded well with an effort just over the bar from an Alejandro Balde cross which found Marcus Rashford’s knee. Just seven minutes were on the clock though when Barcelona took the lead, Balde escaping from the Greek press, and finding Fermin Lopez in space. He slid Lamine Yamal in behind, and when he half-rounded the goalkeeper, Lopez took over to squeeze the ball past the defenders on the line.

Plain sailing may have been on the forecast thereafter, but it was anything but. Olympiakos penned Barcelona in at points, and worked their way back into the game, causing headaches for the home team. Just as the pace of the game was dropping though, Barcelona came up with a sucker punch.

Official LaLiga data reveals a worrying trend: Barça run almost 4 km less per game than last season, falling from 5th to 15th in distance covered. Flick has already held an urgent meeting with his staff to address the issue. @DBR8

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) October 21, 2025

Much has been made of the condition of Barcelona’s press of late, but it was crucial in their second, as Pedri intercepted a pass in the middle. Dro Fernandez turned, drove, waited, and released into space for Lopez to bear down on goal, cutting in and finishing. That made life a lot more comfortable for Flick going into the half.

Barcelona blitz Olympiakos after red card

Just as the first half saw plenty of action in the opening stages, so did the second. Olympiakos had the ball in the net via Ayoub El Kaabi after more woeful defending from the Blaugrana, but after a VAR review, both an offside and a penalty were found. The Moroccan striker whipped the ball in off the post, beating Szczesny, and releasing the proverbial cat amongst the Catalan pigeons.

Olympiakos manager Jose Luis Mendilibar was incensed just five minutes later though, when Santiago Hezze saw a second yellow. Battling with Marc Casado for the ball, a loose arm out caught the Barcelona lightly in the face, but sufficient for a booking. From there, things fell apart for Olympiakos.

An elegant exchange between Lopez and Rashford got the latter in behind, and he beat Konstantinos Tzolakis to the ball, resulting in a penalty. Lamine Yamal stepped up to roll the ball down the middle. That was the start of a run of four goals in 11 minutes, and Rashford was next to get his. A ball to the back post was knocked back to Rashford, and he raised his foot, waited, and deceived Tzolakis at the near post, with a move that reminded of Ronaldinho.

Two minutes later, Lopez would complete his hat-trick after Roony Bardghji beat his marker to the by-line, after coming on for Lamine Yamal. There was never any doubt that he would be taking home his first match ball as he walked onto the bouncing ball to finish into the corner. Rashford was in position to strike that ball too, but had only three minutes to wait before he scored again himself. Gerard Martin won the ball back in midfield, and lofted a superb ball in behind for Rashford. It allowed his first touch to take him inside the defender, and Rashford’s second to beat Tzolakis at the near post again.

17-year old Dro Fernández assists on his Champions League debut for Barcelona.

La Masia keeps producing talent ⭐ pic.twitter.com/4SpvX0KEJe

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 21, 2025

A deceptive result for Barcelona, who were very much in a game until the hour-mark, but given the number of tight encounters they have been involved in of late, a welcome release. Their defending will not inspire much confidence, but the rout that they submitted Olympiakos to will raise confidence, and was a reminder of what an in-tune Blaugrana can look like for Hansi Flick. Next up, Real Madrid on Sunday.