Despite being brought back to level terms twice by their Dutch opponents, the Greek champions were able to make the most of their home game and will now carry a two-goal advantage to the Netherlands in a few days time. Great coaching by Pedro Martins, who became the coach with the most European games in the history of the club.
For those who were on neither side, the game between Olympiacos and PSV Eindhoven for the round of 16 of the Europa League at the "Georgios Karaiskakis" was a highly enjoyable evening of football, especially in the first half. Not one, not two, but five goals were scored in the space of 45 minutes, with yet another added in the second half to seal the final score.
But as Pedro Martins, the man who now has the highest number of games as manager of Olympiacos in Europe (overtaking Dusan Bajevic), said in a post-game interview, these types of matches may be a pleasure to watch for the spectators, but they're a coach's worst nightmare. Because it means that all of their plans have gone to waste.
The Portuguese maestro decided to go with his all-time favorite 4-3-3 formation, giving a starting position to Yann M'Vila and Armindo Bruma, who had both been suffering from injuries and were doubtful for the tie. He also chose to play with all three of the club's recent transfer signings in defense, using Oleg Reabciuk on the left, Kenny Lala on the right and putting Sokratis Papastathopoulos next to Ousseynou Ba in the center. The three traditional midfielders were, besides M'Vila, captain Andreas Bouchalakis and Mady Camara who was charges with going up higher and pressuring the Dutch defenders. Up front were Bruma, Matthieu Valbuena and Youssef El Arabi.
Olympiacos started the game rather cautiously, giving the ball to their opponents and trying to find an opportunity to hit on the counter. Thankfully they didn't need to wait too long, as a foul by left-back Max on Valbuena after nine minutes gave the French winger the chance to feed the ball inside the box to the unmarked Bouchalakis, who calmly headed the ball into the right-hand corner of Mvogo's goal, who was unable to react. This was Bouchalakis' first goal in Europe and his fourth in the season, as he continues to silence his doubters.
A few minutes later though, Olympiacos would be punished for their choice to give the ball over to PSV so easily. After passing the ball outside Jose Sa's area, the ball fell to Eran Zahavi who dribbled nicely past Camara and took the shot, with the ball deflecting off Papastathopoulos and ending up in the back of the net.
The two teams continued in the same rhythm, when on the 36th minute Olivier Boscagli took a knock and was temporarily forced off the pitch to receive treatment. Olympiacos made the most of their temporary advantage and a pass by Bruma on the left fell to M'Vila outside the area who blasted the ball past Mvogo for the second time in the evening.
But once again, Olympiacos were made to pay for their sloppy defending and with PSV back to eleven men -after Timo Baumgartl replaced the unpable to continue Boscagli- they again found the equalizer, again with the same player. A corner kick by Max from the left saw Zahavi who, alone and unmarked in the heart of the Olympiacos defense had little trouble putting it away for his team.
With the home side now being extra cautious of their own defensive errors and PSV happy to take the result into the changing rooms, it all seemed as though the two teams would head to the break on level terms.
But no one judged on Baumgartl, who during injury time fell to the unbearable pressure of El Arabi, giving the ball away in the heart of his own defense and allowing the experienced striker to score perhaps one of the easiest goals of his career in Europe.
As if that wasn't enough, Olympiacos' pressure to the Dutch defense continued to bare fruit when Camara won the ball deep inside the opponent's half just moments later, but instead of passing to the unmarked (yet possible offside) El Arabi, he decided to take the shot on his own, which was deflected for a corner kick.
Both defenses suffered setbacks, yet with the necessary substitution, it was now PSV that looked the most vulnerable. At the start of the second half, Olympiacos continued to let PSV have possession, yet their every counterattack seemed lethal and could've made the difference between the two sides.
Eventually the two managers decided to take chances, Roger Schmidt looking for a third equalizer and Pedro Martins for a fourth goal that would give his team a two-goal safety cushion for next week's game in Eindhoven. Schmidt took out the -unconvincing- Mario Gotze and the rather aggressive Ibrahim Sangare to bring on Mauro Junior and Yorbe Vertessen, while Martins initially made his team a bit more defensive by taking off Valbuena and El Arabi to introduce Greek duo Giorgos Masouras and Kostas Fortounis to the game.
But on the 80th minute, and with his defense now looking a lot more solid, the Portuguese manager made a triple change that threw the Dutch for a loop, taking off Lala, Bruma and M'Vila and throwing in Thanasis Androutsos, Marius Vrousaj and Ahmed Hassan.
Olympiacos suddenly became a lot faster and more deadly up front, with Vrusaj creating many dangerous situations on the right wing. On one of those, he attempted to find the unmarked Hassan who was alone in front of the box, but Jordan Teze made a crucial clearance.
The fourth goal seemed inevitable however and it came a few seconds later, when Fortounis made the run again from the right, feeding a low ball into the area for the feet of Hassan who couldn't control it properly. The nearby Masouras however was there to tidy up and give his team the advantage they so desperately needed.
In the final minutes of the game, Schmidt brought on Marco van Ginkel and Erick Gutierrez, but it was Olympiacos that came closer to a fifth than PSV to a third. However, nothing else changed until the final whistle was blown, leaving the two sides to settle their differences in a week's time at the Philipstadion in Eindhoven.
A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT THE GAME
It's been a while since we've seen Olympiacos score so many goals in a single night of European football. And while the team started off looking extremely vulnerable in the back, that makes it even more of an achievement.
The Papastathopoulos-Ba duo don't seem to go well together at all and Olympiacos may come to regret their decision to let go of Cisse. It wasn't just the way he played, but it was also the influence he had on young Ba, who hasn't been his usual self at all ever since his co-patriot and best friend departed for French shores. Someone should really asking him how he's doing because those level of performances are not what we're used to seeing from him.
As for Sokratis, there's not much to say. He does have experience and he can help the Olympiacos defense, but Cisse had a more athletic figure. He was taller and faster, not to mention a lot younger.
On the other hand, the performance of the other two newcomers, Reabciuk and Lala was quite interesting. The Moldavian left-back added another solid appearance to his record and he really is proving to be a great signing.
As for Kenny, it's obvious he hasn't shown his full potential yet, but once he does, he'll be able to take on the whole right side on his own. No disrespect to Thanasis Androutsos who has made an excellent season himself but the French back is on another level and can literally go up and down for way beyond 90 minutes. He has great technique, a good foot and high stamina. It's exciting to think about how strong the team will be once he grows accustomed to his new environment.
Of course, Yann M'Vila continues to impress and demonstrate why he was such an important signing for the club during the summer transfer period. It wasn't just his goal, he was literally everywhere inside the pitch.
However it was a disappointing night for Bruma, who did try to make things happen on the wing, especially in the first half, but didn't really have much luck. We're used to seeing more from him.
All the credit for this win must go to Pedro Martins. Not only did he prepare his team mentally and physically, he also orchestrated them from the bench in such a way that PSV were left dumbfounded. During the final minutes of the game, he hit them with a triple-sub of Androutsos-Vrusaj and Hassan that Schmidt had no response for.
Olympiacos have great quality not only in their starting lineup but on their bench as well, and Martins knows how to get the most out of all his players, whether they play or not.
It's difficult to predict how next week's game will go, since PSV are a team that score many goals, but Olympiacos have shown that they have what it takes to make it through. If they score first then it'll be hard for the Dutch to come back and the Greek champions might even walk away with another win.
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