Champions League
Outnumbered: Barcelona dismantles Piraeus – one star towers over them
Updated 10/22/2025 – 7:48 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
It didn’t take long before the Catalans took the lead. Piraeus shortened the score, but a sending off dashed all hopes.
FC Barcelona achieved its second victory in the league phase of the Champions League. On the third matchday, Hansi Flick’s team dismantled Olympiacos Piraeus 6-1 (2-0) in the Spanish Olympic Stadium. Barça lived up to their role as favorites and, thanks to their high success, jumped to third place, at least for the time being. Olympiakos, who were outnumbered from the 57th minute onwards, are still waiting for their first win.
22-year-old Fermín López scored three goals at the shooting festival (7th minute, 38th and 76th). Young star Lamine Yamal (68th) with a penalty kick after video evidence (VAR) and Marcus Rashford (74th and 79th) scored the other goals for Barça. In the meantime, Olympiacos had come close through Ayoub El Kaabi with a hand penalty (53′). However, the Greeks played outnumbered from the 57th minute onwards: Santiago Hezze saw yellow-red.
Olympiacos coach José Luis Mendilibar lashed out at the referees after the game: “When we came into the game, they threw us out without us doing anything wrong,” complained the 64-year-old Spaniard. The controversial penalty awarded by Rashford angered him: “I saw the same picture as the referee. At the last moment the goalkeeper pulled his arms up and I’m sure he didn’t touch the opponent.”
Flick, on the other hand, stayed relaxed on the sidelines this time. After his dismissal and emotional outburst last weekend, the former national coach vowed to improve. “I don’t like seeing myself like that on TV and I don’t want my grandchildren to see their grandfather like that,” Flick said before the game against Piraeus.
When asked about his counterpart Mendilibar’s anger, he only said: Hansi Flick, when asked about his colleague’s complaints, said: “It’s not my problem. I see it differently, but I won’t go into it.” On Sunday, the Catalans will face leaders Real Madrid in the eagerly awaited La Liga top game.
In the second early game of the Champions League, Qairat Almaty missed its first success against Pafos FC in a 0-0 draw. The Kazakhs played in the majority for almost the entire game. João Correira was shown a red card in the fourth minute after a serious foul.