Barcelona, Spain — fermin lopezFirst of all barcelona hat trick and a marcus rashford Brace helps defeat Spanish champions Olympiacos 6-1 on tuesday i uefa champions league To give Hansi Flick’s team a dose of confidence ahead of Sunday’s top of the table classico struggle against LaLiga leaders real Madrid,
The scoreline favored Barça in the end. Four goals scored in the last 25 minutes after Olympiacos were reduced to 10 players, but Flick will stick to the positives as he looks to extend Barca’s winning run under his management to five matches against Madrid this weekend.
And there were a lot of positives. Firmin returned from the bench last week after suffering a muscle injury, but he was fit enough to start here and finally arrived in the clincher. His second and third goals were particularly well taken, and his hat-trick would have come sooner but without a clever header. Lamin Yamal Cross dropping absolutely wide.
“I’m really happy – we needed a win like this,” Fermin told reporters. “The emotions after the game were really good and now we can focus our attention on classicoAnd to top it all, my first hat-trick. It’s an absolute dream to take home a match ball signed by all your teammates.”
Meanwhile, his role as the team’s No. 9 grew in Rashford’s absence. Robert LewandowskiBy the end of the game, after scoring a spectacular second goal with a strike from the edge of the box with minimal back lift, he was trying all kinds of tricks.
England International – At 27, the oldest outfield player in the youth Barça XI which included the 17-year-old’s full European debut Dro Fernandez – Getting organized well. He now has five goals and five assists in 12 matches. No Barça player has a higher goal contribution this season.
“I think when he has more confidence and he knows the others better, he will be much better too,” Flick warned in his post-game press conference.
Barcelona needed this kind of shock. Back-to-back defeats followed by a tough last-minute win girona Over the weekend, questions are being raised about the team’s form classico On Sunday.
Flick has publicly admitted that the team is not reaching the heights that led to the domestic treble last year. He wants more intensity, blaming the situation and pressure, which usually lead to injuries. RafinhaFor a downfall and that is why opponents are taking advantage of Barça’s high line more readily.
For large parts of the night, it wasn’t much of an improvement either. Barça switched off after Fermin scored a goal for them and allowed Olympiacos to get back into the game in the second half, despite getting a second before the break through the same player.
The Greek side, who pulled a goal back from the penalty spot ayub al kaabiWill feel distressed about the series of events that took the game away from them. santiago hayes Second yellow card shown for catching in the 57th minute mark casado To the face with a flailing arm. If VAR can be used to overturn a booking leading to a red card, he may be allowed to remain.
Only 11 minutes later, when the goalkeeper dashed all hopes of an unlikely comeback of 10 players. Constantino Tzolakis After a pitch-side review, Rashford was adjudged to have fouled in the box. The exchange of quick passes in the build-up between Firmin and Rashford was sensational; Touches on Rashford were minimal. Yamal sent a fine.
With two goals and a man advantage, the odds were gone. Rashford scored his first goal of the night and then after some brilliant movement from the substitute Fermin completed his hat-trick Rooney Barghji –Though a very lucky pass followed.
“Fermin scores, he runs… he is a complete player,” Flick said. “It was a sensational performance. The three goals, the first goal opening the scoring, were as important as the second.
“He has the potential [to be one of the best in his position]You can see today, he is dynamic; He is very dangerous in front of goal. It is important for us that he is in our team. He’s good with the ball, but against the ball he’s also brilliant for us. “He gives us the mobility we need.”
Rashford added the cherry on top by scoring a brilliant sixth after a brilliant pass PedriHe felt that he should have been given a second penalty as well, but that if six on Olympiacos was already unfair, seven would have been extremely harsh.
“Every win gives us more confidence,” Flick said. “For us the win today was very important, but also the result. We scored six goals, that’s a good thing.”
German coach hopes to instill confidence on Sunday classicoWhen he is expected to have both Raphinha and ferran torres Also returning from injury. A win would take Barcelona to the top of the table.
“I always think positive,” Flick said as he awaits the trip to the Santiago Bernabeu. “Of course we are capable of winning in Madrid. We have a good team. Maybe two players come back. Today we have this big win, which gives us confidence for the weekend. And we will see. We have time to recover and also to prepare for the match.”
