Physical Arsenal overpowers Olympiakos
Olympiakos played a decent game in London but suffered a 3-1 setback at Arsenal for the Champions League on Wednesday, staying at the bottom of its group with no points after two games.
The Greek champion could have gone home with a draw had it played in the second half as well as it did in the first, but the physical superiority of the Premier League side made the difference on a night of heavy rain in North London.
Arsenal took the lead three minutes before half-time when Gervinho latched on a pass just outside the Olympiakos box and pounded a low shot that beat Olympiakos keeper Balazs Megyeri.
The Greeks equalized at the stroke of half-time as a wonderful Leandro Greco cross from the left picked Costas Mitroglou, whose header found its way to the Arsenal net for 1-1.
Arsenal was far superior in the second half, with Lucas Podolski making it 2-1 in the 56th minute after twisting inside the box to send the ball through Megyeri’s legs.
The Gunners had more chances to add to their tally in the second half, but had to wait up to the last minute of time added-on to make it 3-1, when substitute Aaron Ramsey broke free on the counter to lob the ball past Megyeri.
Olympiakos will now play Montpellier twice, first in France and then at home.
