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Barcelona hosted Olympiacos in the matchday 3 of the Group D in the UEFA Champions League in what would be a reunion of current Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde with his former employers.
The hosts took the lead in the 18th minute through an own goal from Dimitris Nikolaou. However, Gerard Pique’s sending off late in the 1st half presented Olympiacos with a glorious opportunity to cause an upset but it was not to be as Lionel Messi stuck via a free-kick in the 61st minute to complete 100 goals in European competitions and then assisted Lucas Digne’s goal just 3 minutes later to help his side the upper hand in the game.
While Nikolaou did make amends for his earlier mistake with a goal for Olympiacos in the 89th minute, it failed to impact the result of the game and Barcelona continue their perfect record in the group stages.
Here are the player ratings from the game.
Barcelona
Marc Ander Ter Stegen – 6
With Barcelona dominating the proceedings, even with 10 minutes on the pitch, Ter Stegen had very little to do in the game. The visitors had just 3 shots on target, one of which resulted in their only goal of the evening late in the game and the German shot-stopper could do nothing to prevent it from going in.
Sergi Roberto – 6
The 25-year-old Spaniard was tidy with his passing and got into some advantageous positions on the pitch. However, he could not entirely help his side’s attacking endeavours as he looked restricted going forward. He created no goal scoring opportunity and often found it tough getting past the opposition with the ball at his feet.
Gerard Pique – 4
The Spanish defender was sent off in the 42nd minute when he decided to use his hand to score a goal and it was a foolhardy thing to do for the experienced defender. Thankfully for Pique, his departure did not have any impact on the game as Olympiacos failed to utilise their advantage.
Samuel Umtiti – 7
It was another of those nights where we were impressed by the French defender who is fast developing into one of the most reliable players in the Barcelona squad. His positional awareness was on point throughout the game and the defender constantly looked to drive Barcelona forward as he spent a considerable time of the night in the Olympiacos half.
Lucas Digne – 7
The left-back began the evening timidly but grew into the game with the passage of time. With Jordi Alba recently picking up an injury in training, Digne might find himself in a more prominent position in the weeks to come and the Frenchman did not fail to show why he is believed to be amongst the best in the business as he capped off a decent night with a brilliant goal late in the game.
Sergio Busquets – 6
It was a solid performance yet again from Busquets, whose role became even more important in the 2nd half with his side reduced to just 10 men and the Spaniard did not disappoint as he kept things ticking in the favour of his side and helped them establish their dominance over their visitors on the evening.
Andres Iniesta – 7
The magical central midfielder had a quiet game by his standards but did well to ensure that he glued together the moves of his teammates. However, there were moments in the game where Iniesta’s movement on and off the ball made you sit up and wonder how he does it with such ease and credit to Olympiacos for containing him in the 2nd half.
Paulinho – 8
The flair of Barcelona required a driving force at the start of the season and it has been provided adequately by Paulinho. The Brazilian has been the driving force in Barca’s midfield and yet again showed to the world why Barcelona paid in excess of £36 million with a clinical performance.
He created 3 goal scoring opportunities, was a constant menace to the opposition with his movement on the ball and was always available to help his side negotiate any threat from Olympiacos.
Gerard Deulofeu – 7
Deulofeu, who was making his first-ever start in the UEFA Champions League was impressive during the game. He was a constant menace to the Olympiacos defence as he constantly poked and probed the Olympiacos defence with his movement on the ball and it was his attempted cross that Nikolaou inadvertently put into his own net.
The only issue with his game at the moment seems to be his decision making as he constantly chose the wrong pass or decided to take on a player when he should have passed the ball, and for the Spaniard to enjoy extended game time with the Catalan club, he will need to improve on that aspect of his game.
Luis Suarez – 4
Where is the Luis Suarez that we have grown so fond of over the last few years? The Uruguayan has been a shadow of himself in the last few weeks and it appears as if his magical touch, which tormented defenders and managers alike, seems to have parted ways with him, at least temporarily.
Suarez was guilty of missing an easy opportunity in the first half and thereafter, found it hard to get into action as he managed just 2 shots post the interval and created a solitary goal scoring opportunity.
Lionel Messi – 9
It was another night that Lionel Messi decided to leave his mark upon. The Argentine superstar scored a sublime free-kick in the 61st minute to score his 100th goal in European competitions and capped off the evening with an assist just 3 minutes later to assuage any claims that Barcelona might find it tough to handle the visitors with just 10 minutes on the pitch.
Records continue to tumble for Messi and the diminutive magician appears keen on furthering his reputation as the greatest of all time.
Substitutes
Javier Mascherano – 7
Mascherano does the simple things really well and the Argentine put in a solid performance after coming on to partner Umtiti at the heart of the Barca defence post the sending off of Pique.
Ivan Rakitic – 6
Rakitic, who came on in the 65th minute, kept things ticking to assert their side’s dominance on the game. However, with the game firmly in their bag by the time he came on, he failed to attack to his side’s attacking endeavours.
Olympiacos
Silvio Proto – 7
If not for Proto’s brilliant performance in between the sticks for the visitors, the scoreline could have been even worse for the visitors. The Belgian shot-stopper made some vital save to deny the likes of Messi and Suarez through the game and there was very little that he could have done to help his side from conceding the 3 goals that they did.
Leonardo Kourtois – 5.5
The Olympiacos left-back had a tough time through the first half as Deulofeu constantly looked to create opportunities from the right-flank and Kourtois’ efforts were rendered useless. He spent a large time in his own half as Barcelona piled on the pressure on their visitors and his endeavours going forward was very limited.
Dimitris Nikolaou - 5
The 22-year-old had a mixed game, to be honest. It was Nikolaou who inadvertently put the ball in the back of the net in the first half and then saw his side ship another 2 goals to Messi and Digne. However, he was solid for extended periods during the game as he constantly made some brave tackles, intercepted the ball well and was available to make clearances whenever required.
He capped off the night with a goal in the 89th minute but it proved to be too little too late to have an impact on the game.
Alberto Botia – 6
The former Barcelona man, who spent 4 years on the books of the Catalan giants returned to his former club and while his side virtually stood no chance in the game, given the calibre of players at Barcelona, Botia had a lot to prove to his former employers.
While Botia did make some vital clearances to deny the marauding hosts on the evening, it was an evening that the centre-back would like to forget as his side were constantly taken to the cleaners by a Barcelona side that played with a man less for the entirety of the 2nd half.
Omar Elabdellaoui – 6
Like his counterpart on the left flank, the Norwegian right-back too found little joy going forward and had to spend a large time of the game in his own half as Barcelona asserted their supremacy. While he was tidy with his passing, he failed to create any goal scoring opportunities. In defence, he added to the numerical advantage of his side defensively but it proved to be inadequate.
Alaixys Romao – 5.5
The 33-year-old was amongst a host of Olympiacos midfielders who failed to turn up in the game. While he did keep possession of the sphere pretty well, it could be said that the central midfielder did not utilise the ball well as he failed to break down the Barcelona midfield even when there was an opportunity to do so.
Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe – 6
To be honest, Odjidja-Ofoe began the game really well and looked like a player who could bulldoze his way past the Barcelona midfield with his pace and physicality. However, as the game got going, Olympiacos found it tough to get beyond their own half and Odjidja-Ofoe cut a frustrated figure.
Guillaume Gillet – 5
The Belgian midfielder was another of Olympiacos’ players who failed to create the desired level of impact. He failed to threaten the Barcelona defence and did not entirely help his side’s defensive cause either. The 33-year-old perhaps found the silky Barcelona movement and play too much to handle and was a restricted figure through the game.
Thanasis Androutsos – 5
To be fair to the young Greek midfielder, he was not expected to set the world alight with his performance against one of the biggest clubs in the world and his performance was contained as he could not offer any creative threat. Like most of his teammates, the 20-year-old also spend considerable time of the game in his own half and failed to break the shackles.
Sasa Zdjelar – 5
The Serbian midfielder was expected to make life complicated for Barcelona once they were reduced to just 10 men. However, it was not to be as the 22-year-old failed to create any real impact on the game and had his defensive colleagues to thank for keeping the scoreline respectable.
Mehdi Carcela-Gonzalez – 6
The Morocco international, who has also represented Belgium in the past, was amongst the few Olympiakos players who impressed during the game. He completed 2 take-ons to temporarily trouble the Barca defence but as the game got on, he found it tough to get involved in the game and was a maligned figure.
Substitutes
Uros Djurdevic – 6
The 23-year-old was brought in the 54th minute in place of Gillet but failed to make an impact as his teammates failed to adequately support him.
Felipe Pardo – 6
Pardo was brought on in the 64th minute in order to infuse freshness into the side and with his side 3 goals down, the 34-year-old found little joy going forward.
Konstantinos Fortounis – 7
The central midfielder assisted Nikolaou’s goal late in the 2nd half and while it was a feather in his cap, it was too little too late from the point of view of the visitors.
