Olympiacos succumb to Betis in Seville
UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 5
| Real Betis | 1 - 0 | Olympiacos |
|---|---|---|
| Canales 39' |
Olympiacos’ hopes of reaching the last 32 of the Europa League remain delicately balanced after they were beaten 1-0 by Real Betis at the Estadio Benito Villamarín in Seville on Thursday.
Watch LIVE GREEK TV including full GREEK SPORTS coverage from AGONASport.com!
Sergio Canales scored the only goal of the game as Real Betis edged out Olympiacos in a highly-entertaining Group F clash in which Kostas Fortounis had a shot cleared off the line and visiting goalkeeper José Sá saved a first-half penalty.
In the end though, Betis simply had too much quality for Pedro Martins’ Thrylos side, who now have it all to do in their final group match against AC Milan on December 13.
Milan, who defeated Dudelange 5:2 in the group’s other match, occupy second spot behind Betis and they are three points ahead of the Greek side. That means that only victory by two or more goals over the Italians will see Olympiacos qualify at their expense in what is expected to be a mouth-watering showdown at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium in Piraeus on Matchday 6 in two weeks time.
THE MATCH
The first half was played at a frenetic pace with plenty of tackles flying in as well as some good, attacking football displayed from both sides.
Once the home side settled down after a frantic opening, they had the perfect chance to take the lead when they were awarded a penalty in the 18th minute when Pape Abou Cisse was penalised for a foul on Mandi.
However, Sergio León was denied by Olympiacos goalkeeper José Sá’s left handed save. The visiting custodian even blocked the follow-up with his foot to keep the home side out.
Olympiacos responded well to that, enjoying some good possession and going close themselves 10 minutes later. It was a great chance for Andreas Bouchalakis. Advantage was played and Kostas Tsimikas crossed the ball from the byline on the left. Bouchalakis met the cross with a deft, but his effort flashed just centimetres wide.
The pendulum then swung again in favor of Betis, and they made their quality count on 39 minutes to open the scoring. Toni Sanabria touched the ball to his left, and Canales fired in a low, hard drive that José Sá had no chance to stop.
Kostas Fortounis, who was an impressive performer for the Greek side, was then denied the chance to equalise just two minutes before half-time when his shot was cleared off the line by the Betis defence.
After half-time Olympiacos struggled to cope with Betis’ energy levels and chances were few and far between for both sides.
Olympiacos lacked the intensity they had in the opening half, and this allowed Betis to renew attack after attack and display their passing game comfortably. The Spanish side were far from clinical though with their decision-making in the last third leaving much to be desired - something which meant Olympiacos were never totally out of the game.
The hosts still passed up a good chance to put the game beyond doubt in the 59th minute when Sanabria hit the crossbar with a shot - if that had gone in it really would have been game over.
As it was Olympiacos were still in with a chance to level but Cisse headed agonisingly wide from a corner from in the third minute of added time.
The visitors continued to push but a late goal, something they have made a habit of lately in the SuperLeague, was not forthcoming and now Martins’ players will have to settle for pull off a last-day victory over Milan to qualify.
STARTING LINEUPS
Betis: 1 Robles(GK), 5 Bartra, 6 Canales, 7 Sergio León, 9 Sanabria, 11 Tello, 12 Sidnei, 14
William Carvalho, 20 Junior Firpo, 21 Lo Celso, 23 Mandi(C)
Olympiacos: 93 José Sá(GK), 4 Camara, 5 Bouchalakis, 7 Fortounis(C), 12 Guilherme, 14 Elabdellaoui, 17 Leiva, 21 Tsimikas, 26 Vuković, 56 Daniel Podence, 66 Cisse
