Hot Olympiakos, he melted West Ham in the … hell of “G. Karaiskakis”. With its best performance this year, his team Diego Martinez stepped on the expensive and extremely high-quality set of the club from London, prevailed 2-1 and is firmly in the process of qualifying for the “16” stage.
THE Fortune with a collar he opened the way and o Ogbona with an own goal he put… a tombstone to the hopes of the visitors from the half, with Paketas reducing in the finale but not enough. The Londoners stayed at 6, Olympiacos moved up to 4.
Nightmares awoke for David Moyes, who on his previous visit as a rival to ‘G. Karaiskakis” had been defeated again, then as a coach of Manchester United!
Shocking performance by AlexandropoulosFortunis, Ese were terrible, while Porosso was unapproachable and showed in a very high quality match that he has a lot to offer to the “red and whites”, with Ortega making his best appearance with the Piraeus.
In the coach’s mind
Diego Martinez lined up Olympiakos with 4-3-3. Paschalakis in goal and Rodinei, Porosso, Retsos and Ortega in defense. Alexandropoulos, Kamara and Ese the axis trio, with Pontense, Fortouni on the wings and El Kaabi at the top of the attack.
Same arrangement from David Moyes for West Ham. Areola in goal, with Kerer, Mavropano, Ogbona and Emerson in the back four. Suchek, Fornals and Ward-Prowse the trio in midfield, with Benrahma, Kundous on the sides and Ings in attack.
The match
Olympiacos entered with momentum, pressing high and making life difficult for the West Ham players, spoiling their build-up. The trio in midfield chosen by Diego Martinez worked harmoniously, Ese’s return to the eleven cut off the visitors’ vertical football and as time went on the “red and whites” became more and more threatening on the pitch. The “G. Karaiskakis” was warmed by the excellent image of the players and the self-sacrifice they made on the grass, with the goal seeming to be approaching.
It finally came in the 33rd minute thanks to the inspiration and indisputable quality of Fortounis, who with a wonderful solo cut a hole between the opposing midfielders, found the space and with a terrible “dry” shot left Areolas no room to react for 1-0 in … a waste of time on the faleri pitch. In the “caps”, Pontense played vertically to Fortounis, he opened to Rodinei who turned to him again but the Greek midfielder’s header went wide. Olympiacos had the momentum, pressed better and… capitalized on their superiority, finding a second goal in the 45’+1′ with Rodenei crossing and Ogbona in his attempt to chase to score at home for his team for 2-0. With the cross, however, West Ham nearly reduced the score, but Paschalakis with great intervention stopped Ings from contact to keep the score as it was.
West Ham knew they were on the brink of their first Europa League defeat of the season and were forced to press high, looking for a quick goal to put them back in the match and in contention for a result. Specialist Ward-Prowse’s free kick went just wide in the 48th minute, while Ings’ shot from the “heart” of the Olympiakos defense six minutes later had the same outcome. Olympiacos was “disturbed” by this good quarter of the Londoners, raised the tempo again and controlled the rhythm. He had his moment in the 55th minute but Pontense’s turn was stopped by Ogbonna before El Kaabi fired into an unguarded goal, with Moyes then throwing on Paquetas, Antonio and Bowen to make it all for all.
The game hardened, the cards came out one after the other from Treimanis’ pocket. The “red and whites” came close to the third goal, but Alexandropoulos’ placekick from outside the area “sculpted” the left “C” of the home team.
The first change from Martinez’s side came with Kinney replacing the tiring Rodiney, with Alexandropoulos having another big spell in the 79th minute to act as the scorer but he couldn’t get a side four after successive dribbles for Kerer to beat Areolas. From the intervention of the French came the corner, from which the promoted Porosso almost scored with a spinning header!
Solbakken and Masouras entered the match in the 85th minute instead of Pontense, Alexandropoulos, with West Ham reducing the score two minutes later. After a bad clearance by Kini, the ball was placed outside the area where there was a gap in the midfield (the only one in the match) and Paketas executed Paschalakis with a terrific volley for 2-1. A goal that, together with the extra eight minutes of stoppage time, stressed “G. Karaiskakis”. However, the formidable display and self-sacrifice of Porosso, Ese who cut off every effort of their opponents and the sensational battles put up by the “red and whites”, was enough to give Diego Martinez’s team a huge victory.
MVP: Alexandropoulos was sensational! He played 18 and the fact that he found spaces to carry the ball vertically, made him free and have a great participation in the creative part. With endless runs, assists and blocks, the Greek midfielder made an incredible appearance. Close up of the wonderful Ese, who is a barometer for Olympiakos, without any of the red and whites lagging behind.
The whistle: Treimanis did not have a difficult task, however, he lost some phases during the race. He could and should have sent off Ogbonna in stoppage time with a second yellow card for a foul on El Kaabi, after not allowing him to get Olympiacos on the counter.
Source: Sport Fm
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
