Olympiakos v Saint Etienne

[hellas_08]

Last 32 - UEFA Cup
Karaskaki - pireas - Greece

Pireas time: 18th February 2009 19:30
Adelaide time: 19th February 2009 4:00am

TV:
Greece:Skai TV (LIVE)
Australia: no broadcasting

streams: http://myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=30500&part=sports

GO Saint Etienne!!!!!!!!

[hellas_08]

St-Etienne could be caught in Olympiacos surge

Their domestic situations could hardly be more different, but when runaway Greek Super League leaders Olympiacos CFP play French Ligue 1 strugglers AS Saint-Etienne in Athens on Wednesday they will not be taking matters lightly.

Demanding
A 2-1 home win against Aris Thessaloniki FC on Saturday underlined Olympiacos's local supremacy. It was their 16th victory in as many matches this season at their Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, spanning all competitions, and it left Ernesto Valverde's side 14 points clear in the table and on course for a 13th league title in 14 years. Not that Valverde is completely satisfied. "We should be able to settle matches when we are ahead and in control," said the Spaniard. "We should improve our finishing, because we risk conceding goals on the break and complicating things for ourselves."

Successful foundations
Aside from a UEFA Champions League qualifying defeat by Anorthosis Famagusta FC in August, there has been little complicated about Olympiacos's progress this term, especially at home. Valverde's men have scored 14 goals in three UEFA Cup games in Athens, although to continue that form and earn a sizeable first-leg advantage against St Etienne they will likely have to do so without the injured Sebastian Leto. Predrag Djordjević could switch to the left wing as cover, yet holding midfielder Dudu believes the team's strength lies at the other end of the pitch. "Our defence is the basis of our success," he said. "It gives us the confidence to charge forward and explains our perfect home record this season."

League travails
In Efstathios Tavlaridis, St Etienne have a Greek central defender of their own. He was forced to sit out Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain FC, which caused Les Verts to slip to 17th in Ligue 1, but could return alongside Sylvain Monsoreau and David Sauget. Loïc Perrin and Christophe Landrin are both ruled out. The visitors are hopeful, though, that as in the group stage, they can find inspiration in the UEFA Cup. "Our main concern is obviously the league situation," said coach Alain Perrin, "but we'll do our best to emulate what we did in the autum. We face tough opponents who are on a roll in their domestic competition – in fact, they have such a big lead in the league that they can focus on the UEFA Cup. That's what worries me."

[hellas_08]

St-Etienne welcome ambitious Olympiacos

A meeting with Werder Bremen or AC Milan in the Round of 16 will be the tantalising prize at stake when AS Saint-Etienne host Greek champions Olympiacos CFP for the second leg of their Round of 32 tie.


• The first leg will be the two sides' first meeting in European competition.


• Prior to the first leg, St Etienne were unbeaten in ten European games – a run comprising five wins and five draws. Their last defeat in continental competition dated back to a 4-0 UEFA Cup reverse at Bohemians Praha on 3 November 1982.


• Not including the first leg, Olympiacos's record in 18 games against French sides read W7 D3 L8. Their record against French teams away from home reads W2 D1 L6.


• Prior to the first leg, St Etienne had played just one previous European tie against Greek opponents. In the third round of the 1979/80 UEFA Cup, Les Verts defeated Aris Thessaloniki FC 4-1 at home – current UEFA President Michel Platini scoring the opening goal – followed by a 3-3 draw in the return.


• The first leg was Olympiacos's Spanish coach Ernesto Valverde's first game against a French side, while his St Etienne equivalent Alain Perrin also had his first taste of Greek opposition.


• Olympiacos can count on the experience of well-travelled French defender Didier Domi, who started his career at Paris Saint-Germain FC before spells at Newcastle United FC, Leeds United AFC and RCD Espanyol.


• The Greek club's Brazilian midfielder Dudu also played in France with Stade Rennais FC during the 2004/05 campaign.


• St Etienne boast Greek talent in the form of central defender Efstathios Tavlaridis, who left Iraklis FC for Arsenal FC in 2001. He subsequently went on to play for Portsmouth FC and LOSC Lille Métropole before joining St Etienne in 2007.


• The Olympiacos tie is Tavlaridis's second against opponents from his homeland. The twice-capped Greek international was part of the Lille squad that won 3-1 at home and lost 1-0 away against AEK Athens FC in the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League.


• Tavlaridis and Olympiacos midfielder Ieroklis Stoltidis were team-mates at Iraklis prior to the former's move to the English capital.


• Reigning Greek champions Olympiacos finished third in Group B to reach the Round of 32, while St Etienne – fifth in Ligue 1 last season – topped Group G.


• St Etienne are unbeaten in eight European home games, a run of three wins and five draws, since losing 4-1 to eventual winners Ipswich Town FC in the quarter-finals of the 1980/81 UEFA Cup.


• Olympiacos have lost on four of their last five European away days. The exception was a 2-0 win at FC Nordsjælland in this season's UEFA Cup first round.


• Neither St Etienne or Olympiacos have never been involved in a penalty shoot-out in UEFA club competition.


• The winners of this tie will face Bremen or Milan in the Round of 16 on 12 and 18/19 March, playing the second leg at home.

[The Waterboy]

What a disgrace!

[Pao Thyra 13]

Well done malakes, Did you enjoy embarasing Greece again Mounopana.

[olympiakos]

very very bad indeed

[GATE13]

hmm a team in the relegation zone demolished you at karaskaki - at least we are playing quality opposition, whats your excuse lol?? oh hang on thats right doesnt your money reach that far, it only penetrates Greece? lol

[COLOSSUS]

hmm a team in the relegation zone demolished you at karaskaki - at least we are playing quality opposition, whats your excuse lol?? oh hang on thats right doesnt your money reach that far, it only penetrates Greece? lol

Yes your day to give us crap, and we will take it on the chin, a bad loss. However Molon, also fair to report not just their position in their domestic league, but also the fact that they topped Group G in the qualifying stages. Obviously, they are travelling quiet nicely in Europe at the moment, but a bad loss for us in Greece. cabernet happens, we get over it and move on unlike other ferels we know

[Stonthialo]

Proves my point about Olympiakos. Good in Greece and an absolute disgrace in Europe. They should enter a team at the Comets Summer 7-a-side competition, they may just even get past the group stage. They would be called Kreas.com.


Ilan celebrates scoring St-Etienne's opener in Athens. A sign of things to come, the green machine katharisis the Red Poutanes Yi!

[GATE13]

hmm a team in the relegation zone demolished you at karaskaki - at least we are playing quality opposition, whats your excuse lol?? oh hang on thats right doesnt your money reach that far, it only penetrates Greece? lol

Yes your day to give us crap, and we will take it on the chin, a bad loss. However Molon, also fair to report not just their position in their domestic league, but also the fact that they topped Group G in the qualifying stages. Obviously, they are travelling quiet nicely in Europe at the moment, but a bad loss for us in Greece. cabernet happens, we get over it and move on unlike other ferels we know

All im saying is that they are not a Werder Bremen, Inter Milan or a Villareal and they took you to the cleaners in Athens and you guys even got a penalty which was clearly outside the box.

How about you forget about where they finished in the group stages and look at where you finished in the group stages - just made it into third!

All us other supporters (whether we be PAO, AEK or whatever else) is that its obvious that there is something Barossa Pearl going on in the greek league and you blind sherry are to ignorantly blind to see it. If Olympiakos was a 14 point better team than PAO, AEK & PAOK then you would be cleaning up all of Europe too

[hellas_08]

ahhahahhahhahuahahahahahhhahahahahahahahahahahhaahahahahahahahahahhaahahahahahah

[povman_2009]

hmm a team in the relegation zone demolished you at karaskaki - at least we are playing quality opposition, whats your excuse lol?? oh hang on thats right doesnt your money reach that far, it only penetrates Greece? lol

Don't Greece and France both use the Euro, so it wasn't the exchange rate that was a problem...

[hellas_08]

hmm a team in the relegation zone demolished you at karaskaki - at least we are playing quality opposition, whats your excuse lol?? oh hang on thats right doesnt your money reach that far, it only penetrates Greece? lol

[Pao Thyra 13]

P0UTANES TIS EVROPIS GAMO TON PIREA SAS

[The Waterboy]

very very bad indeed

[hellas_08]

P0UTANES TIS EVROPIS GAMO TON PIREA SAS

[hellas_08]

olympi olympi olypiake omada omadara sas, yamoto pirea sas kai to mouni tis manas sas

[Motley]

yeah and you kolo vazelopoustarathes have your fate ahead of you. Tha sas gamisoune i spanioli

Cant wait for it!

[hellas_08]

whatever you say re

[Pao Thyra 13]

yeah and you kolo vazelopoustarathes have your fate ahead of you. Tha sas gamisoune i spanioli
Cant wait for it!

And the team that is battling for relegation in the French league done the exact same thing to you's. Atleast if they do FU*K us it was a top quality side that did it.

[olympiakos]

its funny how the pao fans spend more time talking bout our team than theirs, what did their president call their players last week? ballerinas wasnt it?

[Pao Thyra 13]

its funny how the pao fans spend more time talking bout our team than theirs, what did their president call their players last week? ballerinas wasnt it?

Its hard not to speak about the Gavroi when they produce results like this mornings.

[hellas_08]

its funny how the pao fans spend more time talking bout our team than theirs, what did their president call their players last week? ballerinas wasnt it?

Its hard not to speak about the Gavroi when they produce results like this mornings.

exactly .
and it is hard not to talk about olympiakos when you guys cheat your way throuth 12 championships and nothing has been done about it

[COLOSSUS]

.....you guys even got a penalty which was clearly outside the box.

....oh hang on thats right doesnt your money reach that far, it only penetrates Greece? lol

So which one is it MOLON??? In the first quote, you are accusing us of getting a penalty which was "clearly outside the box" which you are referring to us having paid the refs again, and then in your 2nd quote, our money "only penetrates Greece".

Either you smoke too much of the green maitano, or you just like to contradict yourself. Or maybe just maybe, your a first class M.A.L.A.K

Like i said before, TUNE YOUR VIOLIN

[hellas_08]

Saint-Etienne's triple leaves Olympiakos reeling

Goals from Ilan, Geoffrey Dernis and Bafetimbi Gomis have given Olympiakos a mountain to climb in the second leg of their UEFA Cup fixture. The Greeks were given slight hope by Predrag Djordjevic, who shot home a penalty.

Saint-Etienne claimed a surprise - and potentially decisive - 3-1 advantage in their UEFA Cup tussle with Olympiakos in Athens. Violence marked the build-up to this encounter and spilled out in the stands, leading to a state of heightened tension on the pitch. The French outfit appeared to deal with this better, scoring two precious away goals in the first half. Ilan struck early while Geoffrey Dernis added a further goal on the cusp of half-time.

The hosts did control much of the play in the second half, however, they could only muster one breakthrough as Predrag Djordjevic converted a hotly disputed penalty. Despite pressing with increasing vigour in the closing stages, Olympiakos succumbed for a third time to the Frenchmen as Bafetimbi Gomis scored against the run of play in stoppage-time.

Alain Perrin, the French side's head coach, was worried prior to kick-off that his side's lack of experience would cost them in this fixture, however, after an early scare, it was the youngsters who would cope with the situation better.

Olympiakos might have taken the lead through Argentine midfield Fernando Belluschi, however, his sliding attempt from a free-kick was disallowed due to the assistant referee's flag.

This alarm call proved enough to shake the French side, who went on to control possession admirably during the first half. A poor clearance from Didier Domi dropped invitingly to Paulo Machado, who calmly laid the ball to Ilan. The Brazilian coolly rolled the ball home with his instep to give les Verts a valuable lead (11').

Moments later they might have built on it as Dernis forced Antonios Nikopolidis into a fine save. Dimitri Payet reacted swiftly to the rebound but forced his shot wide of the Greek international's goal from a difficult angle.

It would take over half an hour of play for the frustrated hosts to finally muster any shot on Jeremy Janot's goal. When their opening did come, it was to be quite a chance. Luciano Galleti broke down the right and centred for Djordjevic, whose thumping header flew over the bar (36').

Such profligacy would be punished by their guests. Ilan attempted to shoot from just inside the box, however, his effort was swiftly charged down by Domi. Taking advantage of a kind break of the ball, Dernis lashed home to extend les Verts' lead (44').

Half-time brought with it something of a change because the Greeks had clearly had a chance to compose themselves. They would stroke the ball about in a smoother fashion after the pause and cause the French side's defence more anguish.

Saint-Etienne's rearguard stayed relatively stoical, however, Dudu was gifted a chance from a corner kick. The Brazilian was allowed to jump freely and headed positively at goal; Janot made a relatively routine block.

Prior to kick-off, Diogo had been pinpointed as a major threat by Perrin, who would not have been pleased to see the forward gifted room in the box, however, the 21-year-old's control was poor, allowing Janot to jump on the ball.

Olympiakos could count themselves somewhat fortunate when they did find a way back into the tie as Portuguese referee Batista blew for a foul committed by Cedric Varrault on Christos Patsatzoglu. Much to the chagrin of the guests, he pointed at the penalty spot; they felt the foul had been committed outside the box - and they probably had a point. Nevertheless, Djordjevic stroked the ball home (62').

The match stayed within Sainte's grasp, however, they would have to endure a torturous final ten minutes. Olympiakos pressed them hard, pummelling the ball into the box on a regular basis. Dudu had another aerial opportunity but again the ball dropped wide of goal as the hosts' frustration increased.

This would prove to be Olympiakos' last real opening - but it was not the last chance of the match. Saint-Etienne struck against the run of play through Gomis to claim a third away goal and make the Greeks' task next Thursday virtually impossible (90'). Les Verts' top scorer had arrived off the bench but had struggled to make an impression in the game until he shot right-footed into the net via the hapless Domi.

Gomis' goal could prove the killer blow in Olympiakos' UEFA Cup hopes and has certainly fuelled expectation in the Saint-Etienne camp.

[hellas_08]

Valverde: Saint-Etienne 'simply better' than Olympiakos

It's a frank assessment of the night's UEFA Cup action by Olympiakos' Spanish boss.

Olympiakos manager Ernesto Valverde lamented his side's poor first half performance as they crashed to a 3-1 first leg defeat at home to St Etienne in their UEFA Cup Round of 32 clash this evening.

The Greek giants imploded defensively during the first half, Didier Domi's mistake giving the visitors the lead on 12 minutes, Brazilian striker Ilan capitalizing before a quick break allowed Dernis to net before the interval.

Despite pulling a goal back during the second half, the damage had already been done to the home side's chances of progressing, their Spanish manager admitting as much at the post-match press conference.

"Today's game was one of those that happen in Europe," Valverde said. "We had a bad half and we paid for it.

"Saint-Etienne has strong and fast players and they made things difficult today.

"They were simply better than us.

"Conceding in the first half cost us because we were unable to find our rhythm."

Batefimbi Gomis' deflected injury-time effort completed what was a disastrous night for the Piraeus club, whose defeat was made all the more shocking given their form domestically this season - and Saint-Etienne's lack thereof.

The Greeks had maintained a perfect record at the Giorgios Karaiskakis Stadium across all competitions, whilst the Alain Perrin's outfit are struggling to avoid relegation in Ligue 1.

He continued, "When you win everything is good but when you lose they seem to have lost their place.

"My job is to get 100% out of my players and perhaps this is where I am at fault.

"We lost and we are upset.

"We need to think about the next game; the bad thing is that it arrives so quickly."

Olympiakos must now travel to France in exactly one week to save their European campaign and will need to score at least three times in order to have a chance of doing so.

It is a task that Valverde admitted was made "difficult" by Gomis' deflected late strike in particular and with important league and cup clashes with both Panathinaikos and PAOK immediately following, the next two weeks might just be season-defining for the defending champions.

[Missing Post Count]

goal.com...

[GATE13]

.....you guys even got a penalty which was clearly outside the box.

....oh hang on thats right doesnt your money reach that far, it only penetrates Greece? lol

So which one is it MOLON??? In the first quote, you are accusing us of getting a penalty which was "clearly outside the box" which you are referring to us having paid the refs again, and then in your 2nd quote, our money "only penetrates Greece".

Either you smoke too much of the green maitano, or you just like to contradict yourself. Or maybe just maybe, your a first class M.A.L.A.K

Like i said before, TUNE YOUR VIOLIN

Umm you are the M.A.L.A.K did I say that you paid anyone you tossa? I said that your money does not reach into Europe because a team facing relegation in their league took your "champion" team to the cleaners but you still got a LUCKY penalty as it was outside the box.

No contradiction there MAL just stating some points! You must have the IQ of a seagull

[hellas_08]

2nd leg tomorrow morning

[BLACK KNIGHT]

Will Olympiakos regain some pride or continue their usual weak performances in Europe???????? They do believe they will turn the tide in France, but I wouldnt be betting on them.