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Olympiakos 0-0 FC Barcelona
Lionel Messi and co. tried every trick in the book to get the better of this Olympiakos defence but fell short of doing so. At the end, honours were shared, where on one side, Barcelona were denied knockout qualification on matchday 4 and on the other, Olympiakos achieved their first Champions League point.
Luis Suarez hit the bar and Messi had 3-4 brilliant chances to score from, but the brilliance of goalkeeper Silvio Proto along with the entire Greek side's backline kept the home side in the mix of things right till the end.
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It was a thunderous atmosphere at the Karaiskaki Stadium with the supporters vociferously backing their team for the entire duration. On that note, let's take a look at the 5 talking points from FC Barcelona's tricky away trip to Greece:
#5 A point still needed for FC Barcelona
Many had predicted that the Catalans would get the job done in Athens to become one of the first teams to qualify for the round of 16. But, contrary to the general perception, FC Barcelona have not been at their classical best in Europe, except for their 3-0 win over Juventus on the opening day.
But the job is still being done, with 10 points in the bank for Barcelona with just a solitary goal conceded.
FC Barcelona's next two European games consist of a home match against Sporting Lisbon and an away trip to Turin to face Juventus. Barring a gigantic upset, Barcelona will attain one point from these two games and all three against Juventus will eventually guarantee Ernesto Valverde's men the top spot in Group D.
#4 Olympiakos' grit paves the way for a well-earned point
The Greek side's campaign so far in the Champions League has been abysmal. No points from the first three games, Olympiakos looked to have been short of confidence on the European front.
But against FC Barcelona, Olympiakos had a definite game plan and they stuck to it until the final whistle. Result? A hard earned point against one of the most in-form sides in the world.
Olympiakos were in this game just for a point and they managed to do that with some help from FC Barcelona's attacking unit still being in awe of the stadium and the atmosphere.
Goalkeeper Proto made a number of good saves whereas their captain, Alberto Botia was the best defender on the field. Botia was ready to throw his body on the line and made some important blocks.
The entire Olympiakos backline deserves credit for their superlative performance. These set of players also achieved a unique feat - Olympiakos have stopped FC Barcelona from scoring in a Champions League group stage match for the first time since December 2012.
#3 Messidependencia strikes again
FC Barcelona's reliance on Lionel Messi has been well documented and this season, the word "Messidependencia" has been used more than ever before. Neymar's departure and Luis Suarez's sudden lack of confidence have brought a whole lot of pressure on Messi's shoulders to guide his team home on a regular basis.
He has been in scintillating form and has already scored 16 goals in all competitions. But against Olympiakos, it wasn't his night.
In simple terms, Lionel Messi had a bad day in the office. It is normal for a player to have an off day but if Messi has one, the result of FC Barcelona is there for all to see. Against the Greek side, Gerard Deulofeu also couldn't influence much and the midfield was not of much help to the attackers.
Messi brought three saves out from Proto in the first half, but the best chance of the game came to him at the hour mark when he could not guide a Suarez cutback well and skied the effort.
The Argentine was there at the right place on a number of occasions but this was a night where the ball just refused to cross the line. The wait for Messi's 100 Champions League goals continues (he is currently on 97; one treble away from a historic feat).
#2 A memorable week for Ernesto Valverde
Despite the result, the FC Barcelona boss will go home a happy and a content man. This week has seen two homecomings for Valverde; the first one coming at the weekend when Barcelona travelled to Athletic Bilbao and the second one coming against Olympiakos. Valverde has had two spells as Olympiakos manager (one from 2008-09 and the other from 2010-12) where he won three league titles and is a crowd favourite.
Before the match, the home support unfurled a giant tifo which had, "Ernesto, thank you for everything" on it. He was also awarded a plaque by the Olympiakos board for his service to the Greek club. Though the result did not go in Valverde's favour, Barcelona supporters did get a taste of how much admiration the 53-year-old garners in all of his previous clubs.
Valverde had some kind words for Olympiakos and the supporters in his post-match press conference. He said, "The answer to everything is how well our opponents played. They stuck tight together as a unit. We were up against an opponent that did their job well from start to finish. I always had this atmosphere in my favour and today it was against me."
#1 The Luis Suarez conundrum
There aren't many areas where FC Barcelona can be criticized after such a solid start to the campaign, both domestically and in Europe. But the form of Luis Suarez has been a huge concern for Ernesto Valverde.
He currently looks devoid of confidence and is badly out of form. The 30-year-old has been one of the best strikers in the world but this season has seen El Pistolero become a pale shadow of himself.
Against Olympiakos, Suarez had enough chances to get on the score sheet and finally break the deadlock. One of his shot hit the crossbar, his overhead kick went astray but the best chance of the night eventually fell to him.
On the hour mark when Suarez made a cutback to Messi, the Uruguayan was through on goal with just the keeper to beat but he decided to pass it to Messi who had two defenders surrounding him. This move reflected the state of mind the striker is currently in at the moment. He lacks confidence!
Ernesto Valverde has said that he isn't worried by his striker's form as long as Suarez is getting in the right positions. Yes, he is getting in that positions but what is required after that - the composition and the calmness to finish off a move is lacking at the moment for Suarez.
Valverde needs to take the striker off the firing line for a week or so to give Suarez a much-needed break to get his mind back in the right place.
