Olympiakos - Europa League Group Stage Review:

Olympiakos - Europa League Group Stage Review:

By Stephen Kountourou 

With that, it’s a wrap on the group stage of European football for another season. Sides have already learnt their fate as to who they will face in the knockout stages of all three UEFA competitions and there are certainly some tasty ties that await us in the new year. Supporters of Olympiakos, in particular, had a tough task awaiting their team regardless of who they were to be drawn against in the Europa League Playoff Round. 

But before I briefly go into Thrylos upcoming opponent and my thoughts early doors, I want to take a look back at the Greek champions group stage campaign just gone. The highs, the lows and how the Piraeus side reached the knockout stages of a major UEFA tournament for the 9th time in 10 seasons. 

Flying High with Two Wins in Two  

Upon drawing Antwerp, Fenerbahce Frankfurt there was hope from many supporters that this was a group that Olympiakos could certainly compete in with the hope of topping the group while also fearing the possibility of finishing dead last with no knockout football for the new year. Any outcome could have occurred in Group D such as the competitiveness of the 4 teams on paper. 

Once the fixture lists were released, Pedro Martins men knew going into the first game against Antwerp in Piraeus that a win was a must to not only start the campaign off right but also gauge where the squad were able to compete even with what was characterised as the weakest opponent in Group D. 

Still, despite the Belgian side proving a tougher opponent than expected, Thrylos were able to take all 3 points on Match Day 1. A header from the never-ageing Youssef El Arabi, broke the deadlock in the second half before Antwerp were able to equalise through substitute Samatta after Olympiakos fell asleep in defence. Oleg Reabciuk fired the home side to victory with a rare and audacious strike from just outside the box in the latter stages of the match to make it 2-1. 

Match Day 2 would prove to be one of the best performances by Olympiakos in their long history of competing in European competition. Travelling away from Thrylos was never an easy task, but heading across the Aegean to Turkey to face Fenerbahce, with the hopes of getting anything from this match, seemed an almost impossible task. The lineup was released before the match and many were sceptical of Pedro Martins formation choice and strategy going into this heated clash. As it transpired, however, Martins performed a tactical masterclass. 

In what will go down as one of the best away matches in recent times for the Greek champions in Europe. Within the first 6 minutes, Brazilian striker Tiquinho Soares opened the scoring after a quick and clever counterattack to shock the host and make it 0-1 to Olympiakos.

Throughout the game, the shape of the team constantly switched from a back 5 to soak up the relentless pressure from Fener only to rotate to a more dynamic 4-2-3-1 on the counter to make use of the space left by the high pressing Turkish side. After the break, It was Thrylos again who would strike twice more through Giorgos Masouras through almost identical opportunities to make it 0-2 and then 0-3 in quick succession and the Greek champions returned to Piraeus victorious in what will most likely go down as one of the biggest and best results of the season. 

Frankfurt Disaster 

After two group stage matches, Olympiakos were sitting pretty with six points going into the doubleheader against Frankfurt. The objective at the time was to at the very least get something from Match Days 3 and 4 to maintain top spot of Group D going into the latter stages. As it transpired it did not go according to plan. In contrast to the first two games of the UEL, the second two were nothing short of disappointing, to say the least. Upon travelling to Frankfurt to face the Bundesliga side, there was an air of hope from fans that, after the victory in Turkey, getting at least a draw was not out of the question. Frankfurt at the time had also been struggling in their domestic campaign, taking advantage of their weaknesses. 

This however did not transpire as Olympiakos were unable to attain any points throughout Match Day 3 and 4. Upon travelling to Germany, Thrylos despite going behind and then drawing level with a penalty from El Arabi, a second half capitulation as the Greek champions were beaten 3-1. 

The return leg in Piraeus became a do or die for Pedro Martins' men if they wanted to maintain first place in Group D. An early lead from Erythrolefki was cancelled out 5 minutes later in the first half. As the match progressed Olympiakos seemed to become more devoid of ideas and it seemed like a draw was the inevitable result. Frankfurt had other ideas however and took the chances given to them. In added time, after a mishap from the Thrylos defence, the Bundesliga side took the lead at the death to make it 1-2 and firmly take top spot from the home side.   

 

Securing Second with the Hope of More

After the disappointment of the last two matches, Thrylos needed to pick themselves up and stop the slide down the group if they wanted any hope of securing top two. With the home match against Fenerbahce looming, it was vital that Olympiakos at the very least secured their own destiny at the expense of the Turkish side. 

In what was an exciting yet frustrating match up, Thrylos found themselves with minutes to go before the final whistle still at 0-0 against the travelling side. With the prospect of needing something from the final match against Antwerp, it looked as though it would be another disappointing European night for the Greek champions. 

In the 89th minute, however, a cross found substitute striker Tiquinho Soares in the box who scored at the death to make it 1-0 to Olympiakos and almost certainly secure all three points as well as a place in the knockout stage in the UEL for the new year.

The victory in Olympiakos final home game of the group meant that, while they had at least secured second and a place in the playoffs, there was still an outside chance of piping Frankfurt and taking back top spot depending on what happened on Match Day 6. Thrylos would have to travel away and beat Antwerp with the hope that Fenerbahce, who could still secure a place in the Europa Conference League, get a win against Frankfurt in Turkey. 

Despite the aforementioned game finishing as a 1-1 draw which meant that first place was almost unattainable for the Greek champions, it would not matter as Olympiakos themselves were disappointing in the final match of the group stages. A 6th minute goal from Antwerp was the difference maker in a flat performance from Thrylos. Despite this Olympiakos still finished 2nd in the group and in the proceeding UEL Draw were handed a tough playoff tie with Serie A side Atalanta.

Reflection and Future Opponent

When Looking at this on the surface, it has been a decent campaign in the Europa League group stage for Olympiakos. They got two fantastic results against Fenerbahce and ultimately finished second in what was a competitive group. The caveat to that, however, is that Thrylos could and possibly should have achieved even more in those six matches. 

The start was fantastic with two wins and six points in two matches which set up Pedro Martins and his squad nicely for the next two matches against Frankfurt. There was no expectation to win both games but with how the games prior had gone getting a result in either of those matches was a priority to not lose ground on the good work they had built early in the group stages and they did not do that. Two defeats against the German side is what lost Erythrolefki the chance to not only finish top but also go straight to the round of 16 with ample time to prepare for the knockout stages in March. 

Finishing Second, in my opinion, is a good finish. But the opportunity was there to exceed the supporter’s expectations and also gain some more vital points to help the Greek coefficient. Instead, Olympiakos now face the tough task of overcoming a high flying Atalanta side who were unlucky to finish third in their Champions League group. This is certainly one of the hardest opponents the Greek side could have drawn and it is hard to see them currently getting past the Serie A side. 

There is, for me, a very small chance that Olympiakos can do it. If they bring in some strong reinforcements in the new year, with one of them already being signed in the form of Kostas Manolas, then Thrylos will give themselves the best possible chance of reaching the Round of 16 for the third time in a row. 

This team is talented and this manager is exceptional. They just need to find a way before February to properly and constantly put that all together.

Hellas Football 

Follow @stevekountourou