Olympiacos was made of metal and steel on a top European night. The 4-1 defeat in the first match seemed irreversible, but the red and whites gave it their all and with a legendary performance out of a dream they demolished Maccabi Tel Aviv 6-1 in extra time and advanced to the quarter-finals of the Conference League.
The first part was crazy for Olympiakos. Podense opened the scoring in the 10th minute, with Fortounis doubling the goals of the red and whites on the counterattack in the 36th minute. Ayoub El Kaabi at 45+3′ brought the absolute balance to the overall score, making it 3-0.
Zahavi in the 57th minute with a penalty kick gave the Israelis a qualifying score again. But, El Kaabi with an incredible scissors in the 65′ made it 4-1 for Olympiacos, equaling the score of the first match again. In stoppage time, Jovetic had a huge chance for 5-1, but he missed and the match went to extra time.
Olympiacos soared to direct qualification in the 93′ with Jovetic after a foul by Kostas Fortounis. El Arabi put his stamp and in the 103′ triumphantly “locked” the “ticket” for the quarter-finals.
The draw will take place on Friday at 15:00 in Nyon, Switzerland, where both the quarter-final pairings and the crossovers to the semi-finals and final will be held at the OPAP Arena.
Possible quarter-final opponents: Fenerbahce, Fiorentina, Plzen, Aston Villa, Brugge, Lille, PAOK
The match
Olympiacos entered strongly from the very first minutes, knowing that it has a three-goal gap to cover. In the 9th minute he warned with a shot by Horta, which went wide. A minute later came the 1-0 of the red and whites. Fortounis stole the ball, passed it on the left to Pontense, who dribbled and scored. The ball hit the crossbar and went into the net.
Maccabi Tel Aviv then lost the valuable Milson as well, with Beaton coming on for him in the 14th minute. In the 25th minute, the Piraeus lost a unique opportunity. Pontense fed Ortega on the left who charged into the box, El Kaabi shot from close range and the Maccabi keeper made an impressive save for a corner.
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In the 36th minute, Olympiacos scored a second goal, putting even more pressure on Maccabi Tel Aviv. Podense stole the ball and immediately threw the ball to Fortounis, who ran from midfield, stepped into the area and slotted home to make it 2-0.
The cord tightened around Maccabi Tel Aviv, with the Piraeus in possession and looking for a third goal, which they finally got before the end of the first half, leveling the score of the first leg. Pontense from the left stepped into the area, filled the second post and El Kaabi sent the ball into the net with a header.
Olympiacos went to the locker room having equalized the overall score, with the red and whites being stormy making a very big comeback.
Olympiacos started strongly in the second half as well, its players were attacking the opponent with great self-sacrifice, pressing high and looking for a way to steal the ball. The pace picked up as the minutes ticked by. In the 56th minute, in one of the few moments when the Israelis entered dangerously in the red and white area, they won a penalty. Kanisovski maneuvered, Retsos found him low and the referee showed the white arrow.
Zahavi executed, sending the ball to the right side, Tzolakis fell to the left and Maccabi made it 3-1 in the 57th minute. Maccabi Tel Aviv looked to be upping the ante, but they were counting without El Kaabi, who drew with a goal – a poem. In the 65th minute Ortega made the charge from the left and the Moroccan striker with a wonderful scissors, sent the ball into the net.
Olympiacos started to take the initiative again. In the 67th minute, he poured out on the counterattack, Podense found space, took the shot, but the ball went just wide. Apart from one chance with Perets, Olympiacos had the upper hand and looked for the fifth goal.
At 90+6′, Piraeus had a great opportunity. El Arabi gave it to Jovetic who came out four-four and made the spot with the ball going just outside the right post of Maccabi. In the finale of regular time, Jovetic’s header from a corner went wide. Thus, the game was sent to overtime.
There, Olympiacos secured direct qualification. A free-kick from Fortouni’s right saw Retsos-Jovetic hit the front post with a back-heel effort to send the ball into the net. The Montenegrin forward received the ball again, took the shot and sent it into the net for the red and whites’ 5-1.
Olympiacos was not stopping anywhere and completed its epic at 103′. Terrible ball to Masoura who entered the area, passed Mispati and turned the ball to El Arabi who in an empty net sent it into the net for 6-1 of the red and whites.
Piraeus could have scored a seventh goal, with Arabi dancing past Maccabi’s defense and the goalkeeper. However, the goal did not count for offside at the start of the period.
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