Olympiacos draw a blank in Xanthi
SUPER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 9
Super League leaders Olympiacos dropped their first points since September 22 on Saturday as the Piraeus giants were held to a goalless draw by Xanthi at Pigadia.
Watch LIVE GREEK TV including full GREEK SPORTS coverage with Go Greek TV!
Pedro Martins’ Thrylos side enjoyed the lion’s share of possession at the Xanthi FC Arena, but they struggled to create clinical scoring chances and had to settle for a point against the high-flying hopes, who were solid but without threatening to make Olympiacos goalkeeper Jose Sa work.
The outcome as that Olympiacos are now just three points clear of second-placed PAOK, who can move to the top of the table if they beat Panathinaikos at the Toumba on Sunday in the North vs. South derby clash.
This draw is only the second time Olympiacos have dropped points this season, following the 1-1 derby draw against Panathinaikos back in September, and the overall performance does not bode well for the upcoming Champions League match against Bayern Munich in Germany.
THE MATCH
Having easily defeated AEK 2-0 last time out at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium, Olympiacos were looking to chalk up a fifth successive win which would stretch their lead over PAOK to five points.
It was never going to be an easy task here since the Akrites have also made a promising start to the season, starting the day in fourth place.
And so it proved to be the case for Olympiacos, who dominated possession but could not create a decent opening in the first 45 minutes as the home side’s well-organised defence managed to shut out their threat.
The visitors finally got a clear sight of goal two minutes into the second half when Carlos Abad pulled off a superb save from his own player, Aleksandar Kovacevic, who had inadvertently headed the ball at his own goal following a corner from Olympiacos midfielder Andreas Bouchalakis.
Abad came to the rescue again in the 75th minute when he blocked a flying header from Miguel Angel Guerrero following a right-wing cross from Omar.
It seemed like it was not going to be Olympiacos’ night, even more so when Xanthi won a free-kick in a dangerous position four minutes from full-time. Brazilian midfielder Eduardo Teixeira stepped up to take it and got the crowd on their feet as the ball flew goalwards. Unfortunately the cheers for a goal were misguided as Teixeira’s effort hit the side-netting rather than the back of the net.
And despite some late pressure from Olympiacos, the home side held firm to pick up a valuable point which will also have PAOK fans in good spirits tonight.
STARTING LINEUPS
Xanthi: 1 Abad (Gk), 7 Sturgeon, 27 Fasidis, 9 Kovacevic, 10 Durickovic, 31 Lisgaras, 28 Terki, 91 De Amorim, 4 Karasalidis, 75 Moulin, 25 Sosa
Olympiacos: 1 Sa (Gk), 2 Soudani, 3 Semedo, 4 Camara, 5 Bouhalakis, 8 Guilherme, 10 Podence, 11 El-arabi, 14 Elabdellaoui, 21 Tsimikas, 34 Papadopoulos
HIGHLIGHTS
