After a thriller of a night in Eindhoven, Olympiacos managed to avoid shooting themselves in the foot thanks to a last ditch effort by Ahmed Hassan and qualify for the round of 16 of the Europa League. There, they will be expected by their "old friends" Arsenal who will be thirsty for revenge after last season's fiasco at the Emirates.
You'd think that a two-goal advantage would've been enough to secure that Olympiacos' game against PSV Eindhoven for the second leg of the Europa League round of 32 wouldn't turn into a horror show. Yet you would be far from the truth, as the team showed some of their old tendencies on the pitch, habits that fans thought they had given up somewhere near the end of the previous decade.
But let's take thing from the beginning. Having the safety of the 4-2 result from the first game at the "Georgios Karaiskakis", Olympiacos manager Pedro Martins decided on a more patient approach for the return game at the "Philips Stadion", with a 4-3-3 formation. He had no issue with giving the home side the ball and waiting for a chance to strike them on the counterattack. He went with his favorite eleven: Sa, Lala, Reabciuk, Ba, Semedo, M'Vila, Bouchalakis, Camara, Bruma, Valbuena and El Arabi.
On the other hand, PSV manager Roger Schmidt dropped his usual 4-2-2-2 formation for a far more aggressive 3-5-2. The big surprise was the use of injured central defender Oscar Boscagli in the heart of midfield to replace the penalized Sankhare. Nick Viergriever took his place in defense, while Max and Dumfries were in total charge of the left and right wing respectively.
FIRST HALF
The game began with Olympiacos looking rather comfortable holding onto the ball. They had little to worry about from the PSV attacking force, while up front the French quartet of M'Vila, Camara, Lala and Valbuena were attempting to put the pressure on the Dutch defense. But other than a cross that came from Bruma to bounce of the foot of Boscagli and land on the head El Arabi to go only inches wide of M'Vogo's goal, they weren't really able to create much else for the entire first 45 minutes.
After they got their legs on the ground, the home side began to come forward with greater urgency, searching for a goal that would keep them alive in the tie. Without actually suffocating the Olympiacos defense, they were able to create a few chances. And in an opportunity that was highly reminiscent of the second goal that he scored in Piraeus, Eren Zahavi found himself unmarked during a corner kick and rose up to get the header. Jose Sa got a hand on the ball but it bounced off him to pass the line and give the home side the kick start they were so desperately searching for.
As if that wasn't enough, a few seconds before the 45', El Arabi fouled the Israeli midfielder in a highly advantageous position outside the box. He made no mistakes and with a spectacular free kick that gave Sa no chance to react, put the advantage in the hands of PSV for the first time in the tie.
What Olympiacos had struggled so hard to build during the first leg, they had destroyed so easily in just 45 minutes. It was such a shame but, with the way they were playing, there was no way they were going to make it through to the next round.
SECOND HALF
Something needed to change and Martins knew it. He immediately took off both Valbuena and Bouchalakis for the more attacking-minded Fortounis and Masouras. The difference in the team's mentality was obvious as they held on to the ball more and put the Dutch under greater pressure, yet they weren't really able to get it into the area.
In a great effort on the right wing, Bruma got past his personal opponent and crossed the ball towards the oncoming Camara who took the the first-time shot. The ball bounced off the bar to a defeated M'Vogo's great relief and the Guinean midfielder's shock.
Martins continued to believe in his team and brought on Androutsos and Hassan for Lala and the exhausted Bruma. The Greek team desperately searched for a way past M'Vogo and on the 77th a free kick by Fortounis found the woodwork once again, this being the second time in the night.
PSV tried to come out of their shell and get past the Semedo-Ba duet, with both players raising their performance in the second half. On the 85th minute, a shot from outside the area by Dony Malen found the post of the defeated Jose Sa.
Only a couple of minutes later, Olympiacos were finally vindicated. Reabciuk saw Fortounis' run on the left wing, with the Greek crossing the ball towards Youssef El Arabi. The Moroccan striker defeated his personal opponent but his header was stopped by M'Vogo, who fumbled the ball, with Hassan being first to the rebound and tapping it into the goal to give his team the single goal they needed to make it through.
In the final minutes, Schmidt, who hadn't made a single change all night, brought on all the attacking players he could, but nothing changed, as Olympiacos had the security of Socratis Papastathopoulos to see them through the final five minutes of the game.
Thanks to Hassan, Martins and their own persistence, Olympiacos were able to avoid a disqualification that would've been entirely caused by their own mistakes. PSV proved to be a team that was completely on their level and the Greek defense gave them far more ground than they should have.
AFTERTHOUGHTS
Even though they qualified, Olympiacos did not play well at all, contrary to the first game. The first half was tragic, they failed to create anything up front and they crumbled under the slightest bit of pressure. Those are definitely not good signs.
As many people have noticed, Jose Sa has been underperforming for a while now, although according to information from Greece this is all based to his own personal issues so this is when the club and everyone really needs to support him. After all, we're talking about a Portuguese international goalkeeper.
There also appears to be an issue on the left side. Oleg Reabciuk is not as solid defensively as initially thought, while there's also not a lot of cooperation going on between him and Bruma up front, which makes him the weak link in the starting lineup. He's still new in the team and the club needs to have faith in him but he also needs to apply himself more.
In good news, It was nice to see Ousseynou Ba make such a solid performance once again. This is the defender we've come to know and if he continues to make such great appearances, he's more than likely to move to a much bigger club than his buddy Pape Cisse did.
It's also great to see the team's fighting spirit. They never give up, they fight for one another and they all celebrate together. A solid unit, it's easy to believe in them and the sky's the limit.
THE FUTURE
The next obstacle in Olympiacos' European frontier is one they've come to know very well the last few years: Arsenal.
The gunners are already sharpening their claws after what Olympiacos did to them last season inside their own home and this time you can be sure there will be no underestimating.
Things have certainly changed, especially on the Greek side, as the team that knocked out Arteta's side could barely make up a 14-player squad.
This time however, the red-and-whites have a full list and many players that can come off the bench and provide many solutions.
Among them is former "gunner" Sokratis Papastathopoulos who will want to prove himself to his former manager Mikel Arteta that practically forced him out of the team.
Arsenal have also changed however, replacing Mezut Ozil with former Real Madrid playmaker Martin Odegaard and bringing in Brazilian defender Gabriel from French side Lille.
They still seem to be plagued by issues however, as they're barely 11th in the Premier League while they were almost disqualified in the previous round of the Europa League by Benfica, a team beaten by PAOK in the Champions League qualifiers.
So while they always remain a team of massive quality, they also have some major flaws. If Olympiacos can improve on their own weaknesses, they could be able to do what they've never done before and qualify to the Europa League quarter finals.
It's all about breaking your own limits. And this is something they've done before, after all.
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