Do or Die for Olympiacos in the Champions League

As is normally the case in football, there are at least two sides to every story. That is definitely the case when it comes to Olympiacos’ campaign in the Champions League so far. Those who have watched their three opening fixtures will be anything but despondent.

The club, however, cannot afford to lick its wounds and moan about poor luck or missed opportunities. Nor can it pat itself on its collective back. There is still plenty to play for and all hope has far from gone.

The story so far

Played three, lost two, drew one and sitting at the foot of the table. The points tally from their opening three games has meant Olympiacos are certainly a long shot to qualify for the next stage of the Champions League, but that does not tell the whole story.

If things had been slightly different, the Erythrolefki could be sitting pretty in the group, eyeing a potential top two spot, in place of one of the supposed best teams in European football.

Matchday one saw them host last year’s beaten finalists, Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs may not have had a stellar start to their domestic campaign, but Olympiacos made them look second rate for much of the 90 minutes. Despite that, the North London outfit were two up at one stage. The fact Martins’ side got back into it - and in many aspects deserved to take all three points-  says a lot about their mentality, as well as their footballing ability.

Matchday two saw a trip to Belgrade and once again, all three points were not just a possibility but were looking a probability. Unfortunately, it was not to be and Yassine Benzia’s 57th minute red card, when his side were in front, was the turning point. With no points against Red Star, it did look like Olympiacos’ qualification ship had all but sailed.

With the events of the two previous games, the Erythrolefki could almost have been forgiven if their heads had dropped going into their home tie against German giants, Bayern.

That was anything but the case though, and every one of the Bundesliga champions left the field knowing they had been in a game.

But for a certain Robert Lewandowski, it could have been a different story, but once again, Olympiacos went toe to toe with one of Europe’s very best and if they were found wanting, it was only by very fine margins.

Not the end of the road

Far from being despondent, those associated with and fans of the club should be buoyed by the start they have had. True they have not won, but they have shown they are certainly capable of winning. And there is still a lot to play for.

At the start of the campaign, once they had secured their route through the qualifiers, a top two place would always have been the ambition, even after the draw and though it may not be the group of death, they were always going to be up against it.

The fallback plan would have been to ensure they came third – in all likelihood beating Red Star into fourth place. That is still very much on the cards, despite the result in Belgrade.

With trips away to the English and Bavarian capitals, they will have their work cut out to get anything from either of their next two games. They will no longer have their vociferous home support and it is unlikely they will come up against a Spurs side as poor as last time.

Yes, that would end their chances of progressing in the Champions League, but in all likelihood, Red Star will also have failed to pick up any points against the top two teams.

That means it will all come down to matchday six, when Martins and company host Red Star.

Suddenly, that point against Spurs could prove crucial. The team and players will certainly have learned and gained confidence from their performances so far in the elite competition, so if they were to drop into the Europa League, there is no reason to think why they could not go into at least the latter stages of the competition. 

After that, who knows what could happen?

Image Source: to10.gr

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