Messi, Suarez squander chances, Barca miss chance to get early ticket

Barca could only draw 0-0 when visiting Olympiakos in the fourth round of the Champions League group stage.

If Barca win their fourth consecutive group stage match against Greece, they will secure a ticket to the knockout stage with two matches to spare. But with the draw, coach Ernesto Valverde's team will have to wait at least one more match.

Compared to many previous matches, Barca's accuracy when facing Olympiakos has decreased somewhat. While the team continued to create many chances, Messi, Luis Suarez and Deulofeu all failed to put the ball in the opponent's net.

Olympiakos' net only shook once when Denis Suarez finished past goalkeeper Proto in the 19th minute. That was also the situation where the referee blew the whistle for offside against the Barca player.

The real chance came to the visitors in the 20th minute, with Iniesta's inverted corner kick sending the ball to Messi's feet. From a distance of about 12 meters, M10 shot erratically but could not beat Proto.

Luis Suarez also missed a good chance early on when he ran down a pass from Denis. The Uruguayan striker could only finish with the outside of his right foot, hitting the ball into the outside of the net, instead of going into the goal.

Luis Suarez missed a series of good opportunities. Photo: Reuters

Olympiakos had another escape in the 28th minute. This time goalkeeper Proto brilliantly used his foot to block Messi's shot from just nine meters away.

On the one hand, Olympiakos pushed their troops back to their own half to successfully defend against Barca's attacks, but on the other hand, they also organized sharp counter-attacks. Goalkeeper Ter Stegen had to work more than twice to deal with the home team's shots.

Olympiakos also played better from the beginning of the second half. The Greek representative focused on playing high balls, causing a lot of trouble in front of Barca's goal. Thanks to goalkeeper Ter Stegen, who is 1.87 m tall, Barca gradually stood firm in the air battle.

Barca created more chances midway through the second half but they were all wasted due to Luis Suarez's insensitive handling. The Uruguayan striker had a chance to finish in the 63rd minute, but chose to turn the ball and pass to Messi, who was marked, and shot inaccurately. Luis Suarez also had a diagonal shot that was like a pass to the opposing goalkeeper, a dribble that hit the defender's leg and a volley that flew wide of the goal.

Suarez volleyed right at the edge of the goal but the ball went over the bar.

With the draw in the fourth round, Barca have 10 points from the first four matches. Due to the 1-1 draw in the remaining match, Juventus and Sporting Lisbon are right behind with seven and four points respectively.

In the next round, Barca can win the ticket and the top position in the group if they draw or win at Juventus. Otherwise, coach Valverde and his team will have to wait until the final round to face Sporting at Nou Camp.

Goalkeeper Proto helped Olympiakos earn their first point in the group stage.

According to VNE