Barça U19A v Olympiacos: Comfortable victory brings qualification closer (5-0)

Barça U19A won their third group stage match of the UEFA Youth League against Olympiacos 5-0. Gabri’s side converted their dominance into goals at the Miniestadi as Carles Pérez (2), Monchu, Kike and Riqui Puig found the back of the net. The victory maintained their perfect start to their European campaign and keeps them on top of Group D.

The blaugranas took control from the opening moments as Gabri’s players went close to the opening goal. Collado shot from inside the box but saw his effort saved by the Greek goalkeeper Skafidas. From then on, Barça took control of possession but were not quite converting it into clear chances. Olympiacos were offering very little in an attacking sense and were defending deep.

The U19A side went close from a long-distance Carles Pérez shot before taking the lead in the 28th minute. Carles Pérez once again had a shot and he made no mistake as he tucked the ball into the far past after being put through.

The goal gave the blaugranas even more belief in themselves and they were camped out in the opposition’s half with Olympiacos offering nothing in return. In the final minute of the first half, Lamprou got a second yellow for a foul on the edge of the area and Monchu punished Olympiacos further with an excellent free kick to make it 2-0.

Dominance rewarded

The second half was completely one-sided with Barça attacking and Olympiacos trying to stop them scoring too many. The blaugranas had a double chance in the 60th minute through a Monchu shot and then Pérez saw a shot saved. Slowly, the U19A side turned the screw. The third came following an impressive individual move by Kike who finished excellently.

With twenty minutes to go, Barça had time to score a couple more. First Carles Pérez scored his second when he finished following a quick-fire exchange of passes with Riqui Puig. The 5-0 came when Riqui Puig went from creator to scorer as he finished a lovely passing move to score the final goal of the night.

The victory means the U19A side are still top and unbeaten in their group with nine points from a possible nine. They extended their lead at the top after Juventus lost against Sporting Club de Portugal. Their next match is against Espanyol at 12.00pm on Sunday.