Olympiacos failed to beat Aris in “Kleanthis Vikelidis” (1-1) and lost the opportunity to get closer to the top and enter for good… title track. Moron and Martins the goals of the match, two beams for the “red and whites”.
Aris and Olympiacos were drawn (1-1) in the “Kl. Vikelides”, a result which probably derails the Piraeus from the race to claim the Championship and in a game where the “yellows” took the lead with Loren Moron and Olympiacos equalized with Gelson Martins.
Aris needed a good performance, he found it and could even have taken the points of the victory if in the delays of the match, Loren Moron showed team spirit in a unique moment for the “yellows”. Olympiacos needed to stay in the hunt for the Championship but not the way it presented itself as empty of energy, it had no intensity in its game and this was mainly seen in the second half where its moments were counted on the fingers of one palm.
This is how they played…
The six returns of key players combined with the forced changes due to absences formed a completely different XI for Aris with Julian Cuesta returning to his place in Akis Manzio’s 4-2-3-1. Fabiano, Brambetz, Odubajo and Montoya were the back four with Zul-Darida defensive midfielders and Fetfajidis behind Laurent Moron and Suleimanov, Saverio on the attacking wings.
On the other hand, Jose Luis Mendiliber probably used some of the ingredients of the epic qualification over Fenerbahce to Constantinople. Attacking formation with El Kaabi strike line, Jovetic with Fortuni, Martins on the wings and Ese-Ibora in the center of the midfield. To the many starters who returned to the 11th and Rodinei, Carmo, Ortega who together with Ortega composed the defensive four in front of Tzolakis.
Rich in phases, zero in goals
This was the main feature of the first half where each of the two managers chose a player to have a free role. For Aris it was Yiannis Fetfatzidis and for Olympiakos it was Zelson Martins. After the first five minutes, Olympiacos had (at least) more of the ball at their feet, but in none of the phases they created did they beat Julian Cuesta. The Spanish goalkeeper of Aris had excellent reactions to the final efforts of El Camby (5′), Ese (22′), Jovetic (24′) but also the crossbar in Imbora’s great header in the 25th minute after a corner kick. Earlier Jovetic had scored (8′) but the goal was rightly disallowed as at the beginning of the phase Zelson had stepped on Montoya to take possession, which is why he also saw the yellow card.
The cycle of losing phases for Olympiakos ended in the first minute of stoppage time after a corner where Odubajo cleared the ball as it was on its way to the net.
John was serving but… no one was drinking
Aris relied more on the action of Yiannis Fetfatzidis but also on the creation from the right side. Of course, his first moment was in the 11th minute with Saverio who shot at Ibora’s leg. In general, the “yellows” did not have speed in the execution, as for example in the 38′ phase where, after an assist from “Fetfa”, Darida did not go to direct execution and Karmo managed to counterattack with a shot inside the area. On the contrary, Yannis Fetfatzidis shot directly in the last minute of stoppage time but Tzolakis made an impressive save. And so the first half ended (0-0) with a double-digit number of final attempts for each team but… zero in the quotient.
Moron punished Doe
Loren Moron put Aris in the driver’s seat in the 48th minute as the Spaniard chased down and capitalized on Andreas Doi’s mistake. The Olympiakos stopper did not protect the ball, he left it… open and Moron put it in front of him to execute Tzolakis after a 20 meter run (1-0). There, Olympiacos immediately raised their lines, but mainly looked for Zelson Martins, who five minutes later brought the perfect balance.
The Portuguese’s five minutes
Zelson was the most active player of Olympiakos from the beginning of the match, in some cases he lacked the substance, but he added it in the 53rd minute phase. The Portuguese striker of Olympiakos found himself all alone in the area on the left side and executed Questa (1-1) after a pass from Fortounis in a phase where the defense of Aris had a bad reaction. In fact, in the 58th minute, he could have brought about the complete upheaval, but Cuesta caught up with his execution and kicked a corner in an attempt from a lateral position inside the area.
Akis Manzios refreshed his team with the entry of Manu García, Zamora, while Medilibar made his team faster in the 68th minute with Podense, Ciquinho. In 74′, El Kambi had a better position than Brumbets, he also beat him in the sprint, but the Czech central defender of Aris had the last word with the counter he put on the shot of the Olympiakos striker when he faced Questa.
Slow pace and few phases
In general, the second half had nothing to do with the first. Olympiacos had more time with the ball at their feet, but lacked intensity in their game and speed of thought. And Aris did not manage to create, nor to produce phases in the transition game. And so we reached the 85th minute with the score tied (1-1) and the Piraeus feeling a greater need for risk. There Mendilibar threw Youssef El Arabi into the game instead of El Kambi.
In stoppage time, Loren Moron behaved selfishly as, again due to a mistake by Doi, the Spaniard made a wonderful play on two Olympiacos players, he found himself facing Tzolakis and while two of his teammates were waiting for a pass to execute in an empty net, he mistakenly tried to score with outer hem! Olympiacos pressed in the last minutes looking for the goal but did not reach the final effort.
Zamora (Aris), Zelson (Olympiakos) saw the yellow card
The MVP: No one clearly wins this title. Laurent Moron played a good game, he even scored but he had a selfish reaction in the last big phase of the match. Zelson Martins was the most active of Olympiakos’ forwards.
At their height: Julian Questa on the night of the record was stable while Yiannis Fetfatzidis was active as long as he competed.
The “weak link”: For Aris it was Quique Saverio while Olympiacos aggressively expected more from El Kambi. In general, the offensive line of Piraeus was not active. Bad play by Doe.
The “blunder”: Obviously that of Andreas Doi in the phase of Laurent Moron’s goal. He also scored second in stoppage time, but it was not expensive
The “stragali”: Bad in the disciplinary control, Obrenovic with serious errors in the yellow cards. He was saved by his compatriot on VAR in Jovetic’s goal after he had been fouled by Zelson.
The Gazzetta “treasury”: Aris needed a good performance and did it, while Olympiacos needed the result to stay alive in the Championship race but did not perform to get it.
ARIS (Akis Manzios): Cuesta, Odubajo, Fabiano, Brambetz, Montoya, Jules, Darinda (90+3 Roz), Fetfatzidis (60′ Moron), Suleimanov, Saverio (60′ Zamora), Moron.
OLYMPIC (Jose Luis Mendiliber): Tzolakis, Rodiney, Carmo, Doi, Ortega, Ibora, Ese (68′ Ciquinho), Fortunis, Gelson (79′ Navarro), Jovetic (68′ Podense), El Kaabi (87′ El Arabi).
Tags: Aris Olympiacos Lets chance
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