Barcelona steamrollers duo who 'fled' Sporting | OneFootball

Barcelona kicked off the third round of the Champions League with a thrashing of Olympiacos, winning 6-1 on the afternoon of last Tuesday, October 21. Hansi Flick's men showed no mercy to the side featuring Daniel Podence and Gelson Martins in the starting lineup, players who had unilaterally terminated their contracts with Sporting after the invasion of the Academy.

Without Raphinha, still injured, the Catalans delivered a first half of pure class and went into halftime leading 2-0, with both goals scored by Fermín López — who would later complete his hat-trick and once again prove decisive.

Despite the deficit, Olympiacos did not give up and, right at the start of the second half, Ayoub El Kaabi scored, but the goal was disallowed for offside after a VAR review. Just a few minutes later, in the 54th minute, the Moroccan striker did score, converting a penalty and reducing the score to 2-1.

Greek hopes, however, were short-lived. In the 57th minute, Santiago Hezze was sent off for a second yellow card, leaving Olympiacos with a numerical disadvantage. From that point on, Barcelona stepped up the pace and turned the match into a rout.

Lamine Yamal made it 3-1 from the penalty spot in the 68th minute. Marcus Rashford, also in fine form, scored twice (71’ and 79’), while Fermín López completed his hat-trick with a powerful shot, sealing the emphatic 6-1 final score.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.