Barça crush Olympiakos 6-1 to regain confidence ahead of El Clásico

FC Barcelona rediscovered their spark after a few uneven performances and amid a mounting injury crisis, defeating Olympiakos 6–1 on Tuesday night in the Champions League at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium. 

A hat-trick from Fermín López, a brace from Marcus Rashford, and a goal from Lamine Yamal secured victory for Hansi Flick’s side in their third Champions League match, bouncing back from the defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in their previous European outing.

The match also marked the return of Lamine Yamal, recently recovered from injury. The presence of the 18-year-old star was felt from the beginning, giving Barça the creativity and spark that had been missing in recent weeks.

Flick opted for an experimental lineup, forced to juggle his options due to multiple injuries and the need to rotate key players ahead of Sunday's decisive El Clásico against Real Madrid. 

Among those still sidelined are Robert Lewandowski, Dani Olmo, Gavi, and Joan García, while Raphinha and Ferran Torres are close to full recovery and expected to arrive for the weekend clash. 

One of the highlights of the night was the Champions League debut of 17-year-old La Masia winger Dro, who impressed on the left side with a confident perfomance.

Despite arriving without a single win or goal in their first two group matches, Olympiakos, led by Basque veteran José Luis Mendilibar, put up a spirited fight.

The Greek side generated danger through their width and a series of crosses, disrupting Barça's usual control of possession. Much of the first half unfolded in the Catalans' defensive third.

Still, Barcelona's superior quality soon showed. Fermín López opened the scoring in the 7th minute after a well-worked team move, then doubled the lead in the 39th following another fluid attacking sequence. 

Olympiakos responded after the break. Their persistence paid off when a handball by Eric García was reviewed by VAR and deemed a penalty. Ayoub El Kaabi converted, giving the Greek side their first goal of this Champions League campaign. 

However, their hopes of a comeback were short-lived. Midfielder Santiago Hezze was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for a hand to the face of Marc Casadó. Reduced to ten men, Olympiakos struggled to contain Barça's energy. 

Moments later, Rashford was brought down inside the box, and after VAR confirmation, Lamine Yamal converted the penalty, opening the floodgates for a Barça fest of goals. 

In just five minutes, Rashford scored his first, Fermín completed his hat-trick, and the English forward added a second to seal the 6-1 victory.

As the goals poured in, the ‘culés’ were already thinking about the weekend.

Chants of "Boti, boti, boti, Madridista qui no boti!" ("Jump, jump, jump, Madrid supporter who doesn’t jump!") echoed around Montjuïc as fans showed their renewed confidence ahead of the big clash with their eternal rivals.