A late goal from Olympiacos’ Ayoub El Kaabi has given the “red-whites” an important advantage in their Europa Conference League play-offs tie, significantly boosting their chances of progression in the competition.
The Piraeus giants defeated Ferencvaros 1-0 at “Georgios Karaiskakis” Stadium on Friday morning (AEDT), putting them in a great position to qualify into the Round of 16.
The Hungarian side thought they had opened the scoring in just the second minute of the match when striker Barnabas Varga headed in a free kick delivery from teammate Mohammad Abu Fani, though a VAR check found he was offside and cancelled the goal (4’).
Each side had opportunities to go ahead, but it was not until the 83rd minute that the ball went into the back of the net after Olympiacos marksman Ayoub El Kaabi pounced on a ball from right back Rodinei and knocked it in from close range.
The strike was enough to secure the win in the first leg of this knockout round play-offs tie, giving new coach José Luis Mendilibar a win in his debut game in the Olympiacos dugout and putting them in a great position heading into next week’s decider in Budapest.
If the “red-whites” can qualify, they will join PAOK in the Round of 16 of the Europa Conference League.
