Lionel Messi scored his 100th European goal as 10-man Barcelona maintained their 100 per cent record in Champions League Group D with a 3-1 home victory over Olympiacos.
A Dimitris Nikolaou own goal set the five-time European champions on their way but Gerard Pique’s red card just before half-time gave the visitors a glimmer of hope.
Not for long, though, as Messi made it to his milestone with a lovely free-kick before setting up Lucas Digne as Barcelona made light of having just 10 men with quick-fire goals in the second half.
It will have been a great moment for teenager Nikolaou when he slightly redeemed himself by heading home Kostas Fortounis’ corner for a consolation goal in injury time.
Tweet of the Match
Star Man
Lionel Messi. No surprises here. Took the game by the scruff of the neck and crushed any hope Olympiacos had of getting back into the match following Pique’s red card with a goal and an assist early in the second half.
Lionel Messi
Moment of the match
When Pique was sent off. It was such a surprise and so out of character from the experienced Spain international. Having already been booked early on for a cynical pull back on Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe, he received a second yellow card when Scottish referee William Collum decided that he tried to deliberately score with his hand from a Gerard Deulofeu cross.
Stat point
Barcelona have won 21 of their last 23 Champions League games at the Nou Camp, drawing the other two. They have lost just once at home in the Champions League since October 2009 (a 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich).
Ratings
Barcelona
Marc-Andre ter Stegen: 6
Sergi Roberto: 6
Gerard Pique: 4
Samuel Umtiti: 6
Lucas Digne: 6
Paulinho: 6
Sergio Busquets: 7
Andres Iniesta: 7
Lionel Messi: 8
Luis Suarez: 6
Gerard Deulofeu: 7
Substitutes
Javier Mascherano (for Deulofeu, 46): 6
Ivan Rakitic (for Iniesta, 67): 6
Andre Gomes (for Busquets, 80): 5
Olympiacos
Silvio Proto: 6
Omar Elabdellaoui: 5
Alberto Botia: 5
Dimitris Nikolaou: 6
Leonardo Koutris: 5
Guillaume Gillet: 5
Alaixys Romao: 5
Sasa Zdjelar: 5
Mehdi Carcela-Gonzalez: 6
Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe: 5
Thanasis Androutsos: 5
Substitutes
Uros Djurdjevic (for Gillet, 54): 4
Felipe Pardo (for Carcela-Gonzalez, 65): 5
Kostas Fortounis (for Odjidja-Ofoe, 72): 4
Who’s up next?
Barcelona v Malaga (LaLiga, October 21)
Olympiacos v POAK Salonika (Superleague, October 22)