Jamie Carragher has brutally ruled Barcelona out of the Champions League trophy race, insisting that their defence isn’t ‘ok’.
Hansi Flick’s side conjured up a 6-1 victory over Olympiakos on Tuesday due to goals from Fermin Lopez, Lamine Yamal and Marcus Rashford.
The Catalan club reached the Champions League semi-finals last season, with Barcelona beaten by Inter Milan in overtime of the second leg.
Barcelona won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa de España in 2025 and currently sit second within the top-flight of Spanish football this term.
But Carragher is ‘unsure’ Barcelona’s back 4 can win the Champions League in 2026 – and feels they’ll struggle against teams like Arsenal.
‘They lost [the Champions League semi-final last season] through naivety, really, perhaps having numerous young players,’ Carragher told CBS Sports.
‘Whenever you have a look at the back 4 who played tonight (Kounde, Cubarsi, Garcia and Balde), I’m unsure this back 4 can win the Champions League.
‘It’s not nearly fiddling with a high line – which supplies them problems as well.
‘Every time you watch them, you mostly feel the opposition has a likelihood. It’s not only how they arrange tactically.
‘I’m not quite sure the defenders are ok once they come up against an actual elite team like Arsenal, PSG and Bayern Munich.’
Flick hails Barcelona star after Olympiakos win
Meanwhile, Barcelona boss Flick was stuffed with praise for Lopez after seeing the teen register a hat-trick against Olympiakos.
‘He scores, he runs, he’s very complete,’ Flick said. ‘His performance was sensational.
‘Three goals, the primary one very necessary, gave us confidence. He has all of it – he’s dynamic, he has speed.’
Flick feels the victory over the Greek side will give his team ‘confidence’ ahead of El Clasico against Real Madrid on Sunday.
‘We had some problems in the beginning of the match [against Olympiakos, but we deserved the victory,’ he added.
‘Every goal and every victory is important. The first thing is that we won today, which was the important thing, and this should give us confidence for the match [against Real Madrid].
‘It’s an incredible game. We don’t have time to waste.’
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