BARCELONA, Spain — FermÃn López‘s first Barcelona hat trick and a Marcus Rashford brace helped the Spanish champions hammer Olympiacos 6-1 on Tuesday in the UEFA Champions League to give Hansi Flick’s side a dose of confidence ahead of Sunday’s top-of-the-table Clásico clash against LaLiga leaders Real Madrid.
The scoreline flattered Barça in the end. Four of the goals came in the final 25 minutes after Olympiacos were reduced to 10 men, but Flick will clutch to the positives as he looks to extend Barça’s winning run under his management against Madrid to five games this weekend.
And there were plenty of positives. FermÃn returned from a muscle injury off the bench last week, but he was fit enough to start here and delivered a clinic in finishing. His second and third goals were particularly well taken, and his hat trick would have arrived sooner but for a deft header from a Lamine Yamal cross dropping just wide.
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“I am really happy — we needed a win like this,” FermÃn told reporters. “The feelings were really good after the game and now we can turn our attention to the Clásico. And on top of that, my first hat trick. It’s an absolute dream to have the match ball, signed by all teammates, to take home with me.”
Rashford, meanwhile, grew into his role as the team’s No. 9 in the absence of Robert Lewandowski. By the end of the game, after netting a stunning second goal with a strike with minimal back lift from the edge of the box, he was trying all sorts of tricks.
The England international — at 27, the oldest outfield player of a young Barça XI that included a full European debut for 17-year-old Dro Fernández — is settling in well. That is now five goals and five assists in 12 appearances. No Barça player has more goal contributions this season.
“I think when he has more confidence and knows the others much better, he will also be much better,” Flick warned in his post-game news conference.
Barcelona had needed a blowout like this. Back-to-back defeats had been followed by a labored, last-minute victory against Girona at the weekend, raising questions about the team’s form heading into the Clásico on Sunday.
Flick has publicly acknowledged the team are not hitting the heights that brought a domestic treble last year. He wants more intensity, blaming the positioning and the pressing, usually led by the injured Raphinha, for a drop off and the reason why opponents are more readily exploiting Barça’s high line.
FermÃn López scored a hat trick in Barcelona’s 6-1 Champions League win over Olympiacos on Tuesday. Pedro Salado/Getty Images
For large parts of the night, this was not much of an improvement, either. Barça switched off after FermÃn put them a goal up and, despite getting a second before the break through the same player, let Olympiacos back into the game in the second half.
The Greek side, who pulled a goal back from the penalty spot via Ayoub El Kaabi, will feel aggrieved about the chain of events that took this game away from them. Santiago Hezze was shown a second yellow card in the 57th minute for appearing to catch Marc Casadó in the face with a flailing arm. If VAR could be used to overturn bookings leading to red cards, he may have been allowed to stay on.
Just 11 minutes later, any hopes of the 10 men mounting an improbable comeback evaporated when goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis was adjudged, after a pitch-side review, to have fouled Rashford in the box. The play in the build-up between FermÃn and Rashford, exchanging quick passes, was sensational; the touch on Rashford was minimal. Yamal dispatched the penalty.
With a two-goal and a one-man advantage, the shackles were off. Rashford scored his first of the night and then FermÃn completed his hat trick after some brilliant trickery from substitute Roony Bardghji — albeit followed by a very fortunate pass.
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“FermÃn scores, he runs … he’s such a complete player,” Flick said. “It was a sensational performance. Three goals, the first one to open the scoring, was so important, as was the second.
“He has potential [to be one of the best in his position]. You can see today, he’s dynamic; in front of goal he’s so dangerous. For us, it’s important we have him in our team. He’s good with the ball, but also against the ball he’s fantastic for us. He gives us the dynamic we need.”
Rashford added the cherry on top, scoring a brilliant sixth after a fine pass from Pedri. He felt he should have been awarded a second penalty, too, but if six was already unfair on Olympiacos, seven would have been extremely harsh.
“Every victory gives us more confidence,” Flick added. “For us it was very important the victory today, but also the result. That we scored six goals is good.”
The German coach hopes that confidence will be funneled into Sunday’s Clásico, when he hopes to have both Raphinha and Ferran Torres back from injury, too. A win would take Barça to the top of the table.
“I always think positive,” said Flick, looking ahead to the trip to the Santiago Bernabéu. “Of course we are able to win in Madrid. We have a good team. Maybe two players will come back. We have this huge victory today, which gives us confidence for the weekend. And we will see. We have time to recover and also to prepare for the match.”
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