Barcelona 3-1 Olympiacos Champions League: match report, goals, action
Sevilla - Barcelona: Copa del Rey quarter-final
Barcelona 3-1 Olympiacos: match report
Barcelona shrugged off an early Gerard Pique red card and the distractions of a first match at the Camp Nou since a violent crackdown of an independence referendum in Catalonia to beat Olympiakos 3-1 on Wednesday.
A Dimitrios Nikolaou own goal and second-half strikes from Lionel Messi and Lucas Digne ensured a comfortable evening for the hosts on the field, while the political tension sweeping across Catalonia was seen in the stands despite a low turnout due to torrential rain.
Barca lead Group D with a perfect record from three games, while Juventus remain three points behind thanks to a 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon.
A near 50-metre banner produced by the club called for "Dialogue, Respect, and Sport" before kick-off as Barca continued their plea for both sides of the political divide to reconcile their differences.
Barca's singing section also held up a banner reading 'Freedom for Catalonia', while there were habitual chants in favour of independence in the 17th minute of each half to mark the fall of Catalonia in the Spanish War of Succession in 1714.
Those cries were briefly halted in the first period, though, as Barca went in front in the 18th minute when Nikolaou sliced Gerard Deulofeu's cross into his own net.
Piqué was sent off for slapping the ball into the net two minutes before half-time after picking up an early booking. It left Barcelona with 10-men at a time when they lef just 1-0 and could have been in trouble.
Barca, though, shrugged off their numerical disadvantage as Messi scored his 100th goal in European competition and 97th in the Champions League on the hour mark.
The Argentine dinked a free-kick towards goal, but needed the help of a poor effort from Olympiakos 'keeper Silvio Proto, who merely helped the ball on its way into the net.
Messi was involved again for Barca's third three minutes later as his cutback was drilled home by Lucas Digne.
Olympiakos pulled a goal back a minute from time as Nikolaou made amends for his earlier error with a towering header, but the Greeks remain rooted to the bottom of group without a point.
Barcelona 3-1 Olympiacos live stream online: full time
Barcelona vs Olympiacos live stream online: match preview
The second night of the third group matches sees us return to the Camp Nou for the first time since the closed-doors LaLiga match against Las Palmas. Tonight we’ll hope to see a stadium packed to the rafters as FC Barcelona look to maintain their 100% record in the competition against an Olympiacos side struggling to get going in their domestic league.
Barcelona
Ernesto Valverde will have fond memories of the visitors to his new home tonight after two spells with the Greeks where he won three league titles. But that will not take any of the focus off the job in hand: a win, three points, and consolidation of their top spot in the group.
It should be remembered that Barça started the 2017/18 campaign under a cloud of uncertainty but until a stalemate against Atlético Madrid at the weekend had blown all that away with only wins defining their LaLiga and Champions League record. And the opening group game victory over Italian giants Juventus was so convincing that the rest of Europe’s elite sat up and took notice. If Olympiacos are looking for some positivity to cling onto ahead of this match they’ll not want to be reminded that the Catalan side have not lost at home in the Champions League since May 2013 – winning 20 of the 22 games.
Although Valverde may be tempted to rotate his squad given the relative strengths of these sides he’ll not want to be seen to be complacent so early in the season, and can likely rest players in the final game or two once top spot is secured. This should mean a Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez frontline which could well include Gerard Deulofeu as a third, with possession certainly favouring the home team. Andre Gomes was given a chance to impress against Atlético but having failed to do so could drop back to the bench.
Olympiacos
Losses to both Sporting and Juventus and now two games against Barcelona have already made Olympiacos’ hopes of making it out of the group an almost impossibility. Their best hope will be a third place finish and an extended adventure in the Europa League but form – and that home loss to Sporting in the opening game - suggests that they should just enjoy this year’s experience and focus on getting back into the competition through their league position next year. And even that isn’t looking promising.
With just three wins in their opening seven league games, the third coming on Saturday against Panionios in a 4-3 thriller, many questions are being asked of last season’s Greek champions. And their form against Spanish opposition doesn’t make for good reading. This will be their 15th away game versus a team from LaLiga and they are yet to register a win, and only twice managing to take home a point. Doing so tonight would surprise all but the most optimistic of followers of Takis Lemonis’ side.
The good news lies in the fact that Lemonis is not facing any major injury problems as he looks for a strong showing at one of world football’s iconic stadiums. Ben Nabouhane is out injured while Pardo, Romao and Fortounis are all set to chase in midfield. Some hope will also be placed on the shoulders of Karim Ansarifard to use some muscle memory after his two goals at the weekend. Chances will be few and far between.
Barcelona vs Olympiacos live online: betting odds
The home side are massive favourites so if you have any inkling that Olympiacos can pick up the three points that's where the value is, with a price around 25/1. Another scenario could be Barça leading at half time, then taking their collective feet off the gas and throwing the points away. A €10 bet on that would return €1,000. Of course, there are plenty of bets on just how Barça will win!