SPORTS

Olympiakos basks in glory of ‘epic display’

The Greek media lavished praise on Olympiakos Piraeus on Wednesday after the Greek side made history with a first-ever victory over Manchester United in the Champions League as David Moyes’s troubled first season in charge continues to unravel.

United’s dwindling hopes of winning silverware this season are dangling by a thread after it produced a turgid display against the Greek champion, who eased to a 2-0 victory in its last-16 first leg encounter on Tuesday.

For Olympiakos, unbeaten in the domestic league and full of confidence under the guidance of Spanish coach Michel, the victory was celebrated as a history-making breakthrough against the Premier League giant after four previous failures.

“United who? Legends of Europe, Olympiakos!» declared popular tabloid SportDay in its headline, adding: «The real Red Devils made United look like also-rans with an epic display.”

“Legends of Dreams,» said another prominent sports daily Goal News, adding: «Olympiakos leave the whole of Europe speechless with the greatest win of their history.”

One of the standout performers on the night was Arsenal loanee Joel Campbell, who is likely to feature for Costa Rica against Group D rivals England at the World Cup in Brazil in June.

The 21-year-old picked up the ball well outside the penalty area, before jinking past holding midfielder Michael Carrick and sending a curling left-foot shot around defender Rio Ferdinand and into the bottom corner of the net for the Greeks’ second goal.

“I dedicated the goal to my father, who was in the crowd. When I scored, I ran towards where he was sitting and shouted out that I loved him… it was a special moment,» he told reporters.

“We got exactly what we deserved out of the game and we can look forward to the return leg. It will be vital for us to get a goal over there. If we manage to score then the tie will be over.”

[Reuters]

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