Olympiacos secured an important victory against Bayer 04 Leverkusen with a 2–0 win at the Karaiskakis Stadium, keeping their qualification hopes alive for the next stage of Europe’s premier club competition.
The “Red-and-whites” started the match aggressively and, backed by their roaring fans, took the lead as early as the 2nd minute. Rodinei delivered a corner kick and Costinha rose highest to head the ball into the net for the opening goal.
The final score was sealed in first-half stoppage time (45+1′). Olympiacos broke quickly down the right flank through Rodinei, who played a perfectly weighted through ball to Mehdi Taremi. The experienced striker calmly finished with a right shot, sending the ball into the net and making it 2–0.
OLYMPIACOS (Jose luis Mendilibar): Tzolakis, Ortega, Pirola (73′ Biancone), Retsos, Costinha, Hezze, Mouzakitis (73′ Garcia), Chiquinho (82′ Scipioni), Rodinei, Martins (79′ Bruno), Taremi (73′ El Kaabi).
Bayer 04 Leverkusen (Kasper Hjulmand): Blaswich, Quansah, Andrich, Bade, Vazquez (58′ Tillman), Fernandez, Garcia, Grimaldo, Poku, Maza (70′ Arthur), Kofane (70′ Schick).
