Barcelona vs Olympiacos: 5 Talking Points as Barca are reduced to 10 men

#3 Did Gerard Pique deserve to get sent off?

Gerard Pique received a red card in the first half

In truth, Gerard Pique was the architect of his own sending off. It was a booking that could easily have been avoided but the Barcelona centre-back cannot complain following his first ever red card in the Champions League.

In a game where the home side were dominating, Pique panicked when Olympiacos had a promising attack building up. It was what they call in the game a 'professional foul' - taking one for the team as Pique held on to the player's shirt to prevent him from advancing up the field.

However, it was the second yellow card that was a bit unlucky. Sensing a goal, the centre-back had made his way into the box when Gerard Deulofeu took a shot on goal from the right.

Olympiacos goalkeeper Silvio Proto managed to get a hand to it and deflected it away from goal, only to see the ball make its way to Pique at the far post. But the ball bounced up and, although Pique reacted as any player would, trying to move his hand out of the way, the ball came off his wrist before nestling into the back of the net.

1 - Gerard Piqué has been sent off for the first time in the #UCL (92 appearances). Accident. pic.twitter.com/31ieQLJNl9

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) October 18, 2017

The referee consulted with his assitant and pulled out a yellow card for the Pique - his second, and he was off. Replays showed he barely had time to react but his celebration for the 'goal' certainly did not help his cause and it was probably enough for the referee to make up his mind and book him for a second time in 31 minutes.