Substitute Ieroklis Stoltidis snatched a late winner for Olympiacos as they beat Standard Liege 2-1.
Late winner seals unconvincing win for Olympiacos
Substitute Ieroklis Stoltidis snatched a late winner for Olympiacos as they beat Standard Liege 2-1 in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
Standard grabbed the lead in the first-half as skipper Igor De Camargo slotted home Milan Jovanovic's clever through-ball on 37 minutes.
The Belgian outfit's lead did not last long as Kostas Mitroglou took advantage of some indecisive goalkeeping by Sinan Bolat to head a 44th minute equaliser.
Olympiacos dominated the second-half, but they did not get a reward for their efforts until three minutes into stoppage time when second-half substitute Stoltidis headed home the winner to seal the Greeks' second win in Group H.
Standard chances
But Olympiacos did not have things their own way on home soil when after 16 minutes, Dieudonne Mbokani skipped down the right wing, turned Avraam Papadopoulos in the box and shot, but the ball was blocked by Enzo Maresca.
Jaouad Zairi should have done better at the other end a minute later but at least tested Bolat.
The impressive Mbokani then muscled his way down the left and crossed, De Camargo scuffed his effort but the ball went to Wilfried Dalmat who pulled a great chance wide.
Moments later, Luciano Galletti tried his luck from 35 yards for the hosts and the ball shaved post on the way behind.
Standard got the goal they deserved after 37 minutes when Eliaquim Mangala linked up well with Jovanovic, who slid in De Camargo to finish low at the near post.
After 43 minutes, Mangala was harshly adjudged to have fouled Galletti.
The Argentinian floated in the free-kick and Mitroglou nodded the ball over Bolat, who had started to come but changed his mind, and into the net.
Second-half
Mbokani started the second half much as he did the first and his left-foot cross was deflected to Jovanovic, whose effort was athletically turned over by Antonis Nikopolidis.
After 55 minutes, Olof Mellberg climbed highest but headed Galletti's free-kick over.
With 20 minutes to go, Jovanovic was inches away from putting Standard ahead as his wicked dipping strike from 20 yards crashed off the bar.
Dudu had the ball in the back of the net as Olympiacos took control in the final 10 minutes when he controlled and fired home a Raul Bravo cross but he was penalised for a push.
After 87 minutes Maresca was agonisingly close when his sweet curling effort drew a fingertip save from Bolat.
Bolat saved again from Galletti in the final minute, but the sucker punch came three minutes into stoppage time.
Galletti's corner was flicked on by Bravo, Dudu made a mess of his attempt but Stoltidis was on hand to convert.
The result puts the Greek side in a strong position in second place in Group H, four points clear of AZ and five clear of Standard.
| Olympiakos |
Team Statistics |
Standard Liege |
| 2 |
Goals |
1 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 11 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
| 11 |
Shots off Target |
6 |
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
4 |
| 10 |
Corners |
4 |
| 15 |
Fouls |
10 |
| 1 |
Offsides |
0 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 85.6 |
Passing Success |
70.1 |
| 23 |
Tackles |
21 |
| 78.3 |
Tackles Success |
81 |
| 63.3 |
Possession |
36.7 |
| 54.2 |
Territorial Advantage |
45.8 |
|
