Leonardo Jardim opted for Olympiacos standard formation with very few changes of players. Carroll protecting the goal; defensive-wise, from right to left, Torosidis, Manolas, Siovas and Cholevas. Ahead of them was Modesto, and Greco (left) and Maniatis (right) closing in at the midfield. At the flanks, Abdoun took over from the left, Machado from the right and Kostas Mitroglou atop the offense.
After the first 5 minutes of Schalke’s robust performance (an early shot from Farfan, just inches off the post), Olympiacos brought the match to a balance and tried to come out forward. In 6’, Maniatis crossed neatly from the right, but Kyriakos Papadopoulos was quick to intercept the ball and award a corner with a header, just before Mitroglou convert it from a great scoring position!
In 10’, Schalke almost touched the first goal. Holtby received the ball at the center midfield, a few yards off the penalty box, with lots of space ahead; he set the ball to his left and launched a left shot that hit Carroll’s crossbar.
Schalke had ball possession in the first quarter of the match, while Olympiacos showed patience in their playing. In 18’, Torosidis made the move from the right and his exquisite crossing met Mitroglou in the box, who laid it back for storing Abdoun. However, the Algerian winger’s left footed strike sailed over the Unnerstall crossbar.
The opening 30 minutes passed in a goalless draw for the sides, with Olympiacos holding in the back and looking for a chance to emerge on offense and create hardships for Schalke. In 31’, following turmoil at Carroll’s goalmouth, after a corner kick, the ball was set for Huntelaar who drives the ball low but wide off Carroll’s right post.
In 35’, Olympiacos launched a 4-man break. The ball was with Abdoun on the left, who crossed to the far post, but failed to meet Maniatis’ head for centimeters who missed the chance to drive it in Unnerstall’s net! In 36’, Draxler, from privileged position, took the left-footed, yet off target for an inch, shot. The match was beautiful, with many good chances and quick tempo.
In 45’, Schalke run the break and Draxler after carrying the ball for long, found the space to take the shot that ended wide. The first half ended in 0-0 and with Olympiacos performing robustly on the Veltins Arena pitch.
Second half kicked off with no substitutions for both sides. In 48’, Huntelaar drove the shot from the center, far away from Carroll’s goal, but the ball passed wide off the Northern Irish goalkeeper’s right post. Schalke tried in the second half, as it was the case in the first, to take control of the match and took ball possession.
During second half’s first ten minutes, Olympiacos felt no actual pressure, although the Germans would keep the ball more in possession. Our side was well setup in the arrears and managed to contain attacks by Stevens’ players. Behind the sideline and to the right of Schalke’s bench, Ariel Ibagaza, David Fuster and Rafik Djebbour are warming up.
In 62 minutes, Cholevas fed Abdoun from the left, who took on the ball and tapped it to Mitroglou, who was slower by a step than Unnerstall and missed the opportunity to net it! In 63’, Draxler crossed from the left for Huntelaar, who tried the header, but Carroll caught the ball safely. Schalke tried to speed up the pace. In 65’, Leonardo Jardim changed Greco for Fuster.
Jose Cholevas clocked twice efforts by Farfan and Holtby in 67 minutes! The Greek back was superb! In 72’, Machado, in a great solo effort, took the shot from the right, forcing Unnerstall to overcome himself in order to save the ball away for a corner! In 74’ Rafik Djebbour entered the pitch for Kostas Mitroglou.
In 75 minutes, Djebbour stepped in the box from the left and turned the ball to Abdoun, who was late to meet the ball goalwards! The ball reached Fuster, who tuned it in, but Neustädter cleared the ball before Djebbour manages to convert it. In 77’, Fuchs found enough space and took a strong shot from distance that caught Carroll by surprise and flew low into the goal.
Jardim, in 81΄, let Ibagaza in for Modesto, in order to press Schalke and score the equalizer.
In 90΄, Machado took the shot from within the box, but Unnerstall caught it.
The score did not change before the end and Schalke registered a 1-0 win, which, in conjunction with Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Montpellier, drives definitely our side to Europa League, since the German side reached 11 points, the Gunners reached 10, the “red and whites” remained at 6 points and Montpellier at 1.
SCHALKE: Unnerstall, Höwedes, Holtby (71’ Pukki), Jones, Papadopoulos, Farfan, Fuchs, Huntelaar (90΄ Marica), Draxler (88΄ Barnetta), Matip, Neustädter.
OLYMPIACOS: Carroll, Torosidis, Cholevas, Siovas, Manolas, Modesto (81΄ Ibagaza), Maniatis, Greco (65’ Fuster), Machado, Abdoun, Mitroglou (74’ Djebbour).
