Olympiacos undone by Mourinho’s Spurs
UEFA CHMAPIONS LEAGUE - GROUP B (MATCHDAY 5)
Olympiacos gave new Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho a scare on his home debut on Tuesday, but despite an impressive first-half performance, the Greek side threw away a two-goal lead and lost 4-2 to the English Premier League club at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
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Youseff El-Arabi’s powerful, low drive and Ruben Semedo’s close-range effort gave Pedro Martins’ Thrylos side a stunning 2-0 lead inside 20 minutes of this Group B, Matchday 5 clash, before a gaffe by Yassine Meriah allowed Dele Alli to reduce the deficit with a tap-in in first-half stoppage time.
Harry Kane struck five minutes after half-time to level the match as Spurs recovered their composure in the second half, and Serge Aurier completed a brilliant comeback in the 73rd minute before Kane got his second and Spurs’ fourth four minutes later.
The victory saw Tottenham clinch a place in the Round of 32, while it is a case of what might have been for Olympiacos, who must now aim to beat Red Star Belgrade on December 11 in the final group match to seal third place in the group which offers a spot in the Europa League knockout stages. Bayern Munich thumped Red Star in Belgrade 0-6 in Group B’s other fixture.
THE MATCH
Olympiacos arrived in London with a difficult test against a Tottenham side primed for a resurgence following the appointment of Jose Mourinho.
The legendary Portuguese coach masterminded a 3-2 away win over West Ham on his debut after replacing Mauricio Pochettino, and another victory would put Tottenham into the knockout round with a match to spare.
But Olympiacos, fighting for their Champions League lives, had clearly not read the script. The Red and Whites made a blistering start, with Giorgos Masouras stinging the palms of Spurs goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga with an early strike.
The visitors looked full of urgency and energy in the early stages, continuously asking questions of the home defence, and although it may have stunned the home fans, Olympiacos opened the scoring after just six minutes.
El-Arabi picked up possession from a sloppy Danny Rose clearance, and the 32-year-old Moroccan advanced towards goal before unleashing an unstoppable low shot into the bottom right corner of Gazzaniga’s net.
Martins and the Olympiacos bench celebrated wildly, while Mourinho gestured to his players to keep calm and stay focused.
The Spurs players did just that and almost pulled level in the 14th minute when Harry Winks’ set-piece from the left flank was glanced goalwards by Heung-Min Son. Unfortunately for the South Korean midfielder, Olympiacos’ Portuguese goalkeeper Jose Sa produced a superb reflex save to parry the effort to safety.
The tempo of the game continued to be played at a rapid pace, but Spurs began to probe more and control much of the possession as they sought to find an equaliser. Olympiacos continued to look threatening, however, and the Greek side doubled their advantage after 19 minutes via a set-piece.
Masouras, who alongside Daniel Podence on the opposite flank were causing the hosts plenty of headaches, angled in a low corner which was flicked on by Guilherme. The ball zipped through a flurry of Spurs bodies and Semedo poked home gleefully from barely 2 yards out.
That sparked more jubilant celebrations among the Olympiacos players and officials in the dugout, while on the opposite bench Mourinho showed his frustrations for the first time in the match.
The Portuguese opted to make an early change, bringing on attacking midfielder Christian Eriksen for holding midfielder Eric Dier after 29 minutes, and that added some attacking impetus for the home side.
Harry Kane, who had not had much of the ball or a sight of goal, finally had the chance for a pot-shot five minutes before half-time from a set-piece, but the England striker’s curling effort was too high and sailed over the crossbar.
Just when it seemed that Olympiacos would go into the half-time break two goals to the good, Yassine Meriah made a comical error to hand Spurs a gift of a goal in the first minute of added time. The 26-year-old Tunisian completely missed the ball as he attempted to clear, and the ball ran on kindly for Dele Alli to tap home from close range.
Spurs came out looking a different team from the one that started the first, and they should have been level three minutes after the restart when Davinson Sanchez headed over Eriksen’s free-kick.
Spurs did not have to wait long for an equaliser though, as two minutes later they were level. Lucas Moura was released down the right flank, and he surged forward before squaring for Kane, who swept the ball home with a simple, first-time finish.
Both sides went at each other in what was an enthralling and tightly-contested match, and you had the feeling that there would be more goals in this game as play began to get more stretched.
Spurs had an opportunity to score with a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area with 20 minutes left after Andreas Bouchalakis had scythed down the rampaging Dele Alli. But Eriksen sent his effort just wide of Sa’s left post.
But Spurs’ persistence was finally rewarded in the 73rd minute when Aurier drilled in a diagonal shot after neat build-up play between Winks, Alli and Son.
Kane then put some gloss on the scoreline with a downward header from Eriksen’s pinpoint free-kick that left Sa with no chance.
The last time Olympiacos scored two (or more) goals in an away encounter in the Champions League was in September 2015, in London when they beat Arsenal 3-2 - the team’s one and only win on English soil. In the first half, it seemed that they may do the North London double. But a bit of Mourinho magic put paid to those hopes.
STARTING LINEUPS
Tottenham: 22 Gazzaniga (GK), 3 Rose, 4 Alderweireld, 6 Sánchez, 7 Son, 8 Winks, 10 Kane ©, 15 Dier, 20 Alli, 24 Aurier, 27 Moura
Olympiacos: 1 José Sá (GK), 3 Rúben Semedo, 4 Camara, 5 Bouchalakis, 8 Guilherme, 10 Podence, 11 El Arabi, 14 Elabdellaoui ©, 19 Masouras, 20 Meriah, 21 Tsimikas
GROUP B STANDINGS
*Bayern Munich 15 points
*Tottenham 10 points
Red Star 3 points
Olympiacos 1 point
*Have secured qualification Last 16
Matchday 6 Fixtures: Bayern Munich - Tottenham; Olympiacos - Red Star
