No room for costly mistakes at this level
AGONAsport’s Olympiacos contributor, Theo Bouras, talks about the Erythrolefki’s performance in England against Tottenham and the costly errors that go unpunished at the highest level.
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Olympiacos were officially eliminated from the Champions League on November 26th but many will argue that the un-official elimination date was October 1st. It was on that night that the Erythrolefki held a 1-0 lead until the 57th minute; where Yassine Benzia received a silly second yellow card and changed the tide of the game. That mistake, along with a couple of defensive collapses, cost Olympiacos the win in Serbia against Red Star, and put a damper on their Champions League qualification hopes.
Entering Matchday 5, the Reds had the odds stacked against them going to England – absolutely needing a win against last year’s Champions League runners-up, Tottenham.
An error of epic proportions
Even the biggest detractor will admit that Olympiacos were by far the better team in the first half. Their quick passing, timely runs, and on-point defending swallowed the Spurs. Tunisian international Yassine Meriah committed a tragic error before the first half ended which led to the hosts cutting the lead in half. Meriah isn’t a bad defender. He was in the Copa Africa’s Top 11 players this past summer. He is a big body who is fairly good in the air and is not slow for his size. Meriah’s issue is that he seems to commit one big gaffe every game. Up to that point, he was perfect; his defending and his calmness when he had the ball were both top-notch.
Kind of like putting a knife through a beach ball, you felt Olympiacos deflated when the goal was scored. The Legend could have gone up by two early in the second but conceded another odd goal in the 51st. A foul on Kostas Tsimikas that was missed by the referee and some heads-up thinking by the ball-boy equalized the game score. Truth be told, Serge Aurier’s throw-in should have been called back because the Ivorian right-back was clearly stepping on the throw-in line.
The next day
The Piraeus-based club will not have any time to sulk after the loss. A big derby against PAOK takes place this weekend and then Red Star Belgrade visit the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium on December 10th in a final-type clash. The Gavros will need to beat the Serbians to ensure they qualify for the next stage of the UEFA Europa League. The Olympiacos that we all saw during the first half in England can make a long run in the Europa League.
To say Pedro Martins had a rough week would be an understatement, a tie at Panionios and the way the loss happened in England are sure to leave the Portuguese manager with a couple of sleepless nights. The team has a chance to redeem itself, though. A victory over PAOK and qualification to the Europa League will leave fans satisfied heading into the second half of the season.
Historically, Evangelos Marinakis hasn’t always been in the Holiday spirit during this time of the year. In late 2012, he fired Leonardo Jardim and replaced him with team care-taker, Antonis Nikopolidis. In early 2015, the Greek shipping tycoon relieved coach Michel of his duties and replaced him by Victor Fereira. In early 2018, he replaced the believed coach Takis Lemonis by Oscar Garcia; a move that ultimately back-fired as the Reds were first under Lemonis but finished the season in third place.
A loss against the Dikefalos tou Vorra and a winless Matchday 6 against Red Star might bring another “Marinakis present” to Martins. A present he most certainly wants to avoid. f
