Olympiacos hold on to claim first-leg win over Fenerbahce in Conference League quarters
By the look of things, Fenerbahce seemed to have control of proceedings from the outset, but an unlikely backline mishap gifted Olympiacos the chance to draw first blood inside 10 minutes.
Picking up a wayward Caglar Soyuncu clearance at the edge of the box, Konstantinos Fortounis rose to the occasion with a pinpoint low shot into the bottom left corner to give the hosts an early lead.
With hopes of a first clean sheet in five head-to-heads firmly out of the window, the visitors were soon dealt with another blow before the break.
Punishing the Turks this time was Stevan Jovetic, who squeezed the ball past Dominik Livakovic from a tight angle, forcing Ismail Kartal to make amends at the break.
The story remained the same for the Turkish outfit though, who once again gave away possession in their own half after the restart, only this time Livakovic stepped up to the task and denied the hosts.
The theme of disastrous defensive mistakes continued for the visitors, but this time Olympiacos made it count as Chiquinho comfortably dispatched into the bottom corner to put the game virtually out of Fener’s reach before the hour mark.
However, a six minute period then changed the game’s complexion, as the visitors pulled two goals back in no time.
A late challenge in the box by Panagiotis Retsos first presented the visitors with a penalty, which Dusan Tadic converted with aplomb into the bottom right corner, before Irfan Kahveci superbly lodged his shot from inside the box into the far corner.
Although Fenerbahce’s late resurgence couldn’t avoid a defeat, the Turks can aspire to turn the one-goal advantage around against Jose Luis Mendilibar’s men when they meet in a week’s time at the cauldron that is Sukru Saracoglu Stadium. As for Olympiacos, despite their late lapses, a third successive victory will undoubtedly boost morale in the camp as they navigate through the business end of their season.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Konstantinos Fortounis (Olympiacos Piraeus)
Check out the match summary here.
