Barcelona produce their best performance of the season

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Barcelona 6 - 1 Olympiacos

Fermin Lopez scored a hat-trick while Marcus Rashford extended his personal tally to four goals from three Champions League games as Barcelona dismantled Olympiacos.

Author | Jack L

Stadium | Estadi OlĂ­mpic LluĂ­s Companys

Champions League | Barcelona v Olympiakos | View from the stands

Lopez’s two precise first-half finishes put Barcelona in command, before his third goal, a Lamine Yamal penalty and a Rashford double ended any brief Olympiacos revival.

A closer look at what happened

Lopez opened the scoring in the seventh minute, following Yamal’s through ball, finishing past the defenders on the goal-line after goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis blocked but could not hold onto the ball. The Spanish midfielder doubled Barcelona’s lead half an hour later, running onto Dro Fernandez’s pass into space, cutting inside and curling a left-footed strike into the corner.

READ MORE | Champions League news from the 25/26 season

The second half began in unusual circumstances. Ayoub El Kaabi appeared to halve the deficit with a header, but a pitchside monitor check led referee Urs Schnyder to rule the goal out for offside and award Olympiacos a penalty for a handball by Eric Garcia, which El Kaabi converted via the post. Three minutes later, Santiago Hezze received a second yellow card for catching Marc Casado with a flailing arm.

Yamal became the youngest player to reach 25 Champions League appearances, at 18 years and 100 days, and converted a penalty after Rashford was fouled while attempting to round Tzolakis.Barcelona’s scoring continued in the 74th minute, with Rashford finishing low past the goalkeeper, before Lopez added his third from the edge of the box, becoming the first Spaniard to score a Champions League hat-trick for the club. 

Rashford then drilled his second goal after controlling a cross-field pass with a delicate touch, marking the second occasion he has scored more than once in a Champions League game since joining Barcelona.

Location: Passeig OlĂ­mpic, 15-17, Sants-MontjuĂŻc, 08038 Barcelona, Spain

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