Apoel secured top spot in Group B of the Europa League with an impressive 2-0 win over Olympiacos at the GSP stadium in Nicosia on Thursday night, which means they will go into Monday’s draw as a seeded team.
Pieros Sotiriou’s perseverance created havoc in the Olympiacos backline early in the first half, leading to Manuel Da Costa diverting the ball into his own net, before Igor De Camargo’s late strike put the game beyond any doubt.
Apoel went into the match knowing that a draw would be enough, while the Greek champions needed to win to climb above their neighbours. The Cypriots, however, looked in no mood to sit back and defend.
Stathis Aloneftis has been in fine form since gaining his spot in the starting line-up and it was his crossing ability that led to the first good chance of the game. His long range pass into the Olympiacos box first had to be cleared by the defence and, from the resulting corner, picked out Sotiriou who headed over the bar.
Aloneftis then had a decent chance himself, but volleyed way over the bar from Facundo Bertoglio’s cross.
The visitors, in need of the three points, were playing a high line in an attacking setup but it proved their undoing on 20 minutes when Nektarios Alexandrou’s lofted pass over the top found Sotiriou, who flicked the ball over the onrushing keeper, with the ball landing on the head of Da Costa and eventually crawling into the net.
The game was played at a frantic pace with both sides constantly springing fast counter-attacks. Just before the break, Olympiacos should have been level when Konstantinos Fortounis’ corner picked out Bruno Viana all alone just outside the six-yard box but the defender’s header could only find the outside of the post.
Olympiacos started the second half on the front foot, with Brown Ideye going close with an effort from outside the box on the turn. Another long range strike quickly followed, this time from Fortounis, bringing Boy Waterman into action with a decent stop.
Giannis Gianniotas, the man on loan from Olympiacos, came off the bench just before the hour mark and so nearly made an instant impact. The Greek winger curled in a pinpoint cross for Sotiriou but the striker was unable to sort out his feet to get a solid connection on the ball and a golden chance went begging.
It was from that point on that Apoel retreated as they sought to hold on to their lead of the game, and the group.
But just when Olympiacos began to pile on the pressure, Apoel sprung a perfect counter attack to put the game beyond doubt. Gianniotas broke forward at pace before picking out Nuno Morais on the right wing who then laid the ball on a plate for substitute De Camargo for an easy tap in to make it 2-0.
Waterman was called into action on a few occasions in the last few minutes while Giorgos Merkis also made a goal-line clearance, but Apoel held on to secure a famous victory and end Group B on 12 points, four above their Greek counterparts in second.
Apoel will find out their opponents for their last-32 tie on Monday, and topping the group means they will avoid some of the tournament’s bigger clubs. The first leg of the knockout tie will be on February 16.
Results from the Europa League on Thursday:
Feyenoord 0
Fenerbahce 1
FK Qarabag 1
Fiorentina 2
PAOK Salonika 2
Slovan Liberec 0
Osmanlispor 2
FC Zurich 0
Villarreal 2
Steaua Bucharest 1
Young Boys 3
Astana 0
Mainz 2
FK Qabala 0
Anderlecht 2
Saint-Etienne 3
AZ Alkmaar 3
Zenit 2
Maccabi Tel Aviv 2
Dundalk 1
Astra Giurgiu 0
Roma 0
Viktoria Plzen 3
Austria Vienna 2
Sassuolo
Genk (match abandoned)
Rapid Vienna 1
Athletic Bilbao 1
Konyaspor 0
KAA Gent 1
Sporting Braga 2
Shakhtar Donetsk 4
Inter Milan 2
Sparta Prague 1
Southampton 1
Hap. Be’er Sheva 1
Panathinaikos 0
Celta Vigo 2
Standard Liege 1
Ajax 1
Red Bull Salzburg 2
Schalke 0
Nice 2
FK Krasnodar 1
