Friday Frappé: This Lead Will Self-destruct

In this week’s edition of the Friday Frappé, AGONAsport’s Peter Katsiris reflects on Olympiacos’ self-destruction in London and what to make of the club’s UEFA Champions League campaign thus far.

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It was in their grasp. A stunning start at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium saw Olympiacos go 2-0 up inside the opening 20 minutes on Tuesday night as the Piraeus giants looked on course for a famous night in the English capital. However, awful defending by Yassine Meriah left the door wide-open for Tottenham to claim a come-from-behind victory and a spot in the Round of 16.

As impressive as Olympiacos’ start was the club’s finish left a lot to be desired as Pedro Martins’ men faded as the game wore on, allowing Tottenham to erase the early deficit shortly after the interval before putting the game out of reach in the final 15 minutes.

While Olympiacos might have not collapsed as they did on Tuesday night, the self-inflicted damage that plagued the club in London has been an ongoing trend for the Erythrolefki in this Champions League campaign.

With the opening contest against Spurs in Piraeus and the road trip to Bayern Munich the exceptions, Olympiacos have managed to throw away a promising start and eventually settle for defeat on three separate occasions.

The first instance came in Belgrade where a unique Olympiacos lineup somehow managed to take the lead in the Serbian capital before two costly fouls from Yassine Benzia reduced the Piraeus outfit to ten men for the final half hour. Reckless defending saw Red Star Belgrade quickly pull level after Benzia’s expulsion before two late goals sealed victory for the Serbs.

Olympiacos remained at full strength in their home clash with Bayern Munich but it was a similar result against the German giants. Youssef El-Arabi’s opener had the port city rocking early on the night before Bayern managed to equalize shortly after the half hour mark through Robert Lewandowski. The Polish striker was back at it again when he put Bayern in front on the hour mark before catastrophic defending allowed Bayern to add a third. Olympiacos were fortunate to pull a goal back late in the contest after a friendly deflection allowed for Guilherme’s strike to trickle in but there was to be no comeback on the cards.

Although the script is slightly different on each occasion the end result remains the same for Olympiacos. Conceded foolish goals and on top of that, late goals have left the club with just one point through five matches thus far. The knockout round of the competition is now officially out of reach, which seems like a failure considering the struggles at Bayern and Tottenham have forced both sides to sack their respective managers.

Weirdly enough, Olympiacos still have their own destiny in their hands with a shot at making the UEFA Europa League. The job is straightforward: beat Red Star in Piraeus on matchday six and third place in the group goes to the Erythrolefki. Olympiacos have shown in spurts that they can be competitive in the Champions League, but now Martins’ men will need to show they have the stamina to survive.

by Peter Katsiris

Image Source: to10.gr

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