Olympiacos ease past Aris in Thessaloniki
 

SUPER LEAGUE PLAYOFFS - MATCHDAY 7

Newly-crowned Super League champions Olympiacos continued their undefeated run in Greece’s top flight with a 4-2 away win over Aris at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium in Thessaloniki on Wednesday.

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The Erythrolefki went in at half-time 2-0 up thanks to goals from Giorgos Masouras and Ahmed Hassan, which was harsh on Michael Oenning’s Aris side who had hit the bar and had several other good chances in what was an evenly-contested Matchday 7 playoffs clash.

Masouras struck again just after half-time to make it 3-0, but a Giannis Fetfatzidis deflected strike saw Aris reduce the deficit.

Hassan soon dismissed any hopes of a comeback by slotting home a 65th-minute penalty to restore a three-goal lead for the visitors. Aris did not give up the ghost, however, and their persistence yielded a goal three minutes from time when Petros Bakoutsis headed home from a corner to make the final score 4-2.

THE MATCH

Aris welcomed Olympiacos amid a run of poor form. The Thessaloniki club have struggled for results in recent weeks and came into this match aiming to fight off OFI Crete for the final European place.

A heavy 4-1 home defeat against AEK at the weekend was not the best preparation to face the newly-crowned champions. There was hope for the hosts, however, with Olympiacos boss Pedro Martins ringing the changes to his squad to rest a few of his leading men in view of the Europa League Round of 16 second-leg match against Wolves.

The likes of Mathieu Valbuena, Kostas Fortounis and Omar were all on the bench, while there were rare starts for veteran defender Vasilis Torosidis, and midfielders Bruno Gaspar and Cafu.

Still, the visitors had plenty of quality in the starting XI, but Aris were not intimidated and the home side started well, with Daniele Mancini forcing Bobby Allain into action to make a good save on 12 minutes.

Olympiacos responded immediately in kind a few minutes later with Torosidis cutting in from the left onto his right foot and sending a long-range shot onto Julian Cuesta’s crossbar.

There was a further chance apiece for both sides on the 20-minute mark when first Giannis Fetfatzidis sending a shot narrowly wide for Aris, and at the other end Ahmed Hassan prodding wide from a set-piece.

The match was turning into an entertaining affair played at a fast pace and with enterprising passing from both teams, and a goal finally came in the 34th minute when Mady Camara unlocked the Aris defence with a clever through ball for Masouras, who surged into the box and fired a low, diagonal drive into Cuesta’s bottom right corner.

Aris were undeterred by that set-back and almost drew level with two good chances passed up just before half-time. First Bruno Gama drew a fine save from Allain on 38 minutes, while livewire Fetfatzidis latched on to a cross from Mancini but somehow contrived to hit the bar from six yards out and the ball bounced to safety.

As if missing those chances was not bad enough for Aris, a defensive lapse in the first minute of added time cost them dear as Hassan took advantage of a poor backpass to score with a clinical finish and make it 2-0 to the visitors.

The 2-0 half-time scoreline was rough justice to say the least on Aris, and they had a mountain to climb to get back in the game.

Unfortunately, the second half got off to a terrible start for the home side when Masouras bagged his second goal of the game four minutes after the restart by converting a cross from Torosidis from close-range, making it 3-0.

Thankfully, once again Aris did not crumble, and they pulled a goal back on 56 minutes thanks to Fetfatzidis. The former Olympiacos winger hit a short from the edge of the penalty area which took a deflection off Pape Abou Cisse before flying past Allain.

At 3-1 the game still looked over as a contest, but that didn’t stop Aris going in search of more goals to try and pull level. But once again they shot themselves in the foot on 65 minutes when Giorgos Delizisis gave away a penalty for a soft foul on Hassan.

The Egyptian dusted himself down and slotted home the spot-kick himself to take his tally for the evening to two. To their credit, though, Aris kept plugging away, and Bakoutsis rose above the Olympiacos defence to score with a powerful header from a corner after 87 minutes to cut the final deficit to two goals.

STARTING LINEUPS

Aris: 23 Cuesta (Gk), 38 Bakoutsis, 5 Delizisis, 40 Bagalianis, 92 Rose, 26 Matilla, 28 Fetfatzidis, 16 Gama, 18 Martinez, 24 Mancini, 88 Sasha

Olympiacos: 16 Allain, 66 Cisse, 3 Semedo, 4 Camara, 5 Bouhalakis, 35 Torosidis, 76 Gaspar, 26 Cafu, 19 Masouras, 99 Hassan, 22 Lovera

Image Source: sport-fm.gr

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