What started as a dream, ended as a horrific nightmare for Olympiacos on day two of the UEFA Champions League.

The red-and-whites (who played in their away blue outfit) were able to gain the lead and maintain control of the game for the majority of the first half, but a very harsh red card on Yassine Benzia saw the team fall apart, as the home side scored three times to claim the crucial win.

Portuguese manager Pedro Martins had received heavy criticism during the derby with Panathinaikos, that he neglected to rotate his squad. This time however, he gave many of his secondary players the opportunity that they seemed to be asking for. Mathieu Valbuena, Guilherme, Omar Elabdellaoui and Daniel Podence all remained on the bench, while Yassine Benzia, Maxi Lovera, Vasilis Torosidis and Mady Camara were given a position within the starting line-up. But it didn’t seem to change much in the strong and confident Olympiacos defence, with Ruben Semedo once again showing his class and putting a stop to all attempts of the home side.

The Serbians maintained possession of the ball, yet didn’t seem to know what to do with it, as the back line of Olympiacos appeared unbreakable. After the 25th minute, the visitors began to slowly gain some ground on the pitch, with Maxi Lovera and Miguel Guerrero threatening from a distance.

On the 33rd, a free kick from outside the area taken by Masouras found Semedo on the far post who got a foot on the ball, sending it into the back of the net. Olympiacos seemed to be flying high going into the break, despite not really threatening their opponents.

They were playing just enough to walk away with the win. Yet after the break, the home side came out looking a lot more threatening and began to look for the equaliser with a greater sense of urgency. And on the 57th minute came the moment that would shift the momentum entirely in the favour of Milos Degenek’s side.

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In an attempt to pile the pressure on the opposition, Yassine Benzia tripped Jose Canas and the referee gave the Algerian his second yellow – a highly questionable decision – and with it, his marching orders.

With Olympiacos down to 10 men, the hunt was on for Crvena Zvezda who quickly threw in Richmond Boakye to increase the pressure on the already disoriented red-and-white defence. Martins chose to bring in Elabdellaoui and Podence, but it proved too little too late, as the home side was able to find the equaliser on the 62nd minute, with Milos Vulic taking advantage of a poor clearance by Yassine Meriah and putting the ball past Sa.

The visitors didn’t give up despite their numerical disadvantage and on the 85th minute missed a great opportunity when the Tunisian defender found himself alone in the area, yet failed to atone for his mistake from close.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the very next minute Nemanja Milunovic took the header from a Marko Marin corner kick to give the home side a much deserved lead.

Boakye’s third goal simply added salt to Olympiacos’ wounds, with coach and players having a lot to think about after this heavy loss.

Thankfully, they remain third in the group, after the slap that was heard around the world, with Bayern Munich destroying Tottenham Hotspur 2-7 in London.

For the third round of the competition, the red-and-whites will host the German giants.

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