Martins thrilled with confident Olympiacos display
In Luxembourg, Olympiacos got their UEFA Europa League Group F campaign back on track, defeating minnows Dudelange 2:0 to leave head coach Pedro Martins feeling fully satisfied with the performance.
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Despite all of the pressure on Olympiacos to get the three points, the Greeks showed no signs of nerves in Luxembourg, dominating proceedings from start to finish. Registering a large 27 shots, Olympiacos should have been out of sight by half time, but Lazaros Christodoulopoulos grazed the crossbar after Miguel Angel Guerrero received an injury and Konstantinos Fortounis was denied by a top save. Nevertheless, the visitors eventually made the deserved breakthrough in the second stanza, as Vasilis Torosidis planted a firm header into the net and Fortounis’ effort was deflected over the line by Dudelange’s Edisson Jordanov. Olympiacos now occupy third place of Group F with four points.
Head coach Pedro Martins was thrilled with the confident display in Luxembourg: “Overall, I thought it was the perfect game, we showed character and personality,” beamed the 48-year old Portuguese boss. “Miguel Angel Guerrero’s injury? We will find out the degree of severity tomorrow. Even when this match became slightly difficult at times, we knew how to deal with the situation, and we were superior throughout the entire game. However, we should have scored more goals considering the amount of opportunities which came our way.
Real Betis defeated AC Milan? The Italians are capable of winning in Spain. The fate of this group will be decided on the last matchday when we host Milan in Piraeus. Let’s see how the situation unfurls.”
Star Olympiacos performer Konstantinos Fortounis, who was the mastermind behind both of the Erythrolefkoi’s goals, feels his club are back in the hunt for qualification: “We have a chance of qualification again and we have to beat Dudelange at home. Personally, I think we played better in the second half today, and we finally managed to score. We certainly should have scored more goals.”
Goalscorer Vasilis Torosidis was pleased that Olympiacos made a statement after recent disappointments: “This win is a real outburst for us, especially after results lately. After missing so many opportunities, it became tough, but the most important thing is that we won. My goal? I only care about the team winning! That’s what counts.”
by Shaun Nicolaides
Image Source: to10.gr
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