Enough Done, But Finishing Must Improve

Enough Done, But Finishing Must Improve.

By Christian Leggas

Almost, but not quite like the first leg of this tie, Olympiacos did what they had to do in the second leg against Omonia. Below are my ratings based on how the Olympiacos players performed on the night.

 

José Sá: Omonia threatened his goal a bit throughout the game. But, he did not have to make a lot of saves. What he had to do, he did it well. 6.5/10.

Rafinha: Went about his business quietly and did a decent job of containing the Omonia's wingers. 6/10.

Ruben Semedo: Had a nervous start with some ordinary touches and passing. But, undoubtedly saved his team from conceding a goal just after half an hour, as he got a toe in right before Omonia winger Éric Bauthéac was about to pull the trigger from close range. Following that, his other defensive acts were impressive. 7/10.

Ousseynou Ba: Was perhaps fortunate not to give away a penalty early in the first half after a fierce tackle on Bauthéac. Following that risky but effective tackle on Bauthéac, he did what was required to help keep Omonia at bay. 6.5/10.

Jose Holebas: Like Rafinha, went about his business quietly and did a decent job of containing Omonia's wingers. He also looked more of a threat going the other way with a decent forward-run or two. 6.5/10.

Mady Camara: Pretty much your standard energetic performance from Camara, in both an attacking and defensive sense. 7/10.

Yann M'Vila: He and our other central midfielders were perhaps a tad guilty of giving Omonia players a bit too much space to be creative in the centre of the park, more so in the first half. He was solid defensively and played some decent passes. 6.5/10.

Andreas Bouchalakis: He was composed, calm, and very measured on the ball. Rarely miss-hit any of his passes. 7/10.

Lazar Ranđelović: Should have put Olympiacos in front on the night after eighteen minutes, as his outside of the foot shot went narrowly wide. He had another great chance to do so after sixty-five minutes from close range, but this time, his effort was saved by Omonia Keeper Fabiano when it probably should not have been. Looked dangerous at times and was clean with his passing, but lacked the finishing touches. 6.5/10.

Youssef El-Arabi: Did a pretty good job of holding the ball up and getting his teammates involved in attacks. He did not have a plethora of chances, but the ones he did have early in the first and second half, he might be disappointed that he did not score at least one of them. 6.5/10.

Mathieu Valbuena: Like the first leg of the tie, he bobbed up almost everywhere in the final third and tried hard to make things happen. But he was not as clinical with his passing and crossing in comparison to the first leg of the tie. 6.5/10.

Subs:

Giorgos Masouras: Came on for Ranđelović after seventy-two minutes and had some decent goal-scoring opportunities. There was a volley from a saved Valbuena free-kick that he could not direct on-target when he probably should have forced Fabiano into making a save at the very least. There was also a subsequent left-footed effort from close range that was saved quite nicely by Fabiano, but Masouras arguably should have scored there. 6.10.

Cafu: Came on for Camara after ninety minutes, but there was not enough time for him to do anything worthy of a rating. N/A.

 

Kostas Fortounis: Replaced Valbuena after ninety minutes, but there was not enough time for him to do anything worthy of a rating. N/A.

Konstantinos Tzolakis: N/A.

Bruno Felipe: N/A

Ahmed Hassan: N/A.

Pape Abou Cissé: N/A.

Hellas Football 

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