Olympiakos vs Real Madrid: UEFA Champions League matchday five preview
Olympiakos vs Real Madrid:
UEFA Champions League matchday five preview
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It has finally arrived. The dreaded fixture that everyone has been waiting for. The biggest, most converted and star-studded team in the world….plays Real Madrid.
Before readers start to question my bias and even my sanity, it is, of course, Los Blancos whom I am referring to as Olympiakos face another incredibly difficult task of getting a result against the 15-time UEFA Champions League winners.
After a frustrating campaign in Europe's elite football competition, in which it can be argued that part of Thrylos's two points from four games could be attributed to bad luck, missed chances and moments of madness in defence, Jose Luis Mendilibar and his players soldier on to try and topple what many would consider to be the biggest teams in world club football.
Last time in the UCL
A frustrating night in Piraeus. Olympiakos had victory snatched from their grasp as they drew 1-1 with PSV Eindhoven in a packed Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium.
For 90 minutes, the Greek champions were pretty excellent. They were able to nullify the Dutch side's attack and counter well to create chances of their own. Eventually, the early hard work in the first half paid off when Gelson Martins, who had one of his best games for the club, found the opener with a thunderous strike to make it 1-0, and deservedly so.
From then on, Thrylos attempted to find a second but to no avail. Chance after chance was squandered, but there was at least hope that the home side could at least see out the narrow scoreline with PSV hardly offering anything. With a minute on the clock, the away side won a free kick just outside of Olympiakos’s box.
Lapses in concentration, even for a couple of seconds, can be the difference between success and failure. Rodinei kept the PSV players on side as the ball travelled into the box, finding substitute Ricardo Pepi, who equalised, earning his side a rather fortunate point and the Thrylos players despondent at having squandered what could have been a much-deserved first victory of their European campaign.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, travelled to Anfield to play Liverpool, where they suffered a 1-0 defeat, the first of their Champions League exploits. Xabi Alonso’s men were under the cosh for most of the first half, with the current Premier League champions raining down chance after chance. If not for the heroics of Thibaut Courtois, Los Blancos would almost certainly have gone into half-time behind.
After the break, the Belgian goalkeeper continued to save his team from conceding, that was until just after the hour mark. A Dominik Szoboszlai set piece found Alexis Mac Allister, whose thundering header blasted past Courtois to make it 1-0. Real had not failed to score at any point during the season, until that night in Anfield, where they were well beaten, despite the scoreline, and it could have been by more if not for their world-class shot stopper.
League results
Olympiakos recovered from the disappointing draw with PSV to win two matches either side of the international break. Thrylos first travelled to play Kifisia, winning 1-3, and it could have been more. Two disallowed goals and hitting the post three times flattered the eventual final score in a game where Kifisia also went down to ten men in the second half.
After returning to club action, another comfortable victory came as the Greek champions ran out 3-0 winners over Atromitos. After a lethargic start, VAR awarded the home side a penalty just before half-time with Ayoub El Kaabi stepping up to score the opener.
Atromitos offered very little, but there were a few incidents in both halves which called upon Konstantinos Tzolakis to make some excellent saves. The depth in Olympiakos’s attack was on show after El Kaabi came off for both Roman Yaremchuk and Mehdi Taremi, with the Iranian scoring a brace and the Ukrainian assisting the second. The win keeps Mendilibar's team top of the table for another week.
Real Madrid, by contrast, are winless in LaLiga in their last two games, although they remain narrowly ahead of Barcelona at the top of the table.
A second consecutive match in which Los Blancos failed to score, preceded the Liverpool defeat, in a 0-0 draw with Rayo Vallecano. Upon returning from the international break, the Spanish giants narrowly avoided defeat in a 2-2 draw away to Elche. The hosts took the lead just before the hour mark through Alexis Febas.
New signing from Bournemouth, Dean Huijsen, put his side level once more, only for Elche to retake the lead as Alvaro Rodriguez made it 2-1. As added time drew closer, Jude Bellingham found Real their second equaliser and snatched a point in the process to keep them top of the Spanish league table.
Previous record
It does not make for good reading overall when it comes to Olympiakos’s record against Spanish opposition. But thankfully for Thrylos fans, the bulk of the negative results have, of course, come away from home.
At Karaiskaki, their record stands at eight wins, six draws and only two defeats, along with 22 goals scored and 19 conceded. It might come as a shock to some, but the Greek champions are undefeated against Real Madrid in Piraeus.
One win, that being the famous 2-1 victory in 2005 and three draws is an admirable record against arguably the biggest football club in the world. Whether that record or their current unbeaten run lasting nearly two years in all competitions ends after Wednesday night remains to be seen.
Is a result possible, or should the focus be elsewhere?
Even with what many news outlets are describing as an injury crisis to their defence, with six players unavailable according to Transfermarkt, and with reported friction between certain players in the squad and manager Xabi Alonso, Real Madrid is a colossal opponent for Olympiakos to overcome. Their attack still boasts some of the best players in the world and will punish similar mistakes to the ones already committed by Thrylos in the Champions League so far this season.
In some regards, and perhaps this is a pessimistic and defeatist perspective, but supporters should not expect a result in this game as it is unrealistic and there are three more matches coming the teams' way, that are absolute must-wins for any hope of snatching a playoff place.
But from a game like football, where upsets and unlikely results are never impossible, there is always that tiny sliver of hope among fans that their team, no matter how big or small, can defy the odds.
@SteveKountourou
Hellas Football
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