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OLYMPIAKOS 2 LIVERPOOL 2
Written by: Dave Usher
OLYMPIAKOS 2 LIVERPOOL 2
MATCH FACTS SCORER(S) NICK BARMBY, STEVEN GERRARD
HALF TIME 1-0
VENUE OLYMIC STADIUM, ATHENS
DATE THUR 23 NOV 2000
STAR MAN EMILE HESKEY
Was this a great performance and result, or was it another case of throwing away a game we should have won handsomely? I don't know. On the one hand we'd have taken 2-2 to start with, but given the fact that in the second half we absolutely mullered them, it's ridiculous that we never ended the tie there and then.
Smicer was the main culprit, missing two great chances and another half chance, whilst Barmby also missed an absolute sitter. We were also really unlucky hitting the woodwork three times, and it just seems like we aren't getting any luck at all lately.
I thought the first goal we conceded was just one of those things and it's hard to point the finger at anyone, and although Babbel and Carragher should both probably have done better on the second equaliser, it would be harsh to call it a defensive mistake.
They were the only openings created by the Greeks, as the reds defended brilliantly as a team throughout, and in the second half stepped up the pace so much so that the partisan home crowd were actually giving it the Ðole'sŽ as we knocked the ball about. The Olympiakos players had given up with about ten minutes to go, so it's all the more galling that they fluked a draw.
In the last minute they were playing keepball in their own half as they'd obviously settled for a 2-1 defeat. Given the chances we'd created in that second half it was no wonder! Yet somehow they found an equaliser, and the tie is far from over.
What worries me about this is that if it's still goalless at Anfield with 15-20 minutes left, it will be panic stations as they'll really come at us. An early goal for us would probably finish them off, but it won't be the foregone conclusion people seem to be suggesting.
They were poor, but we made them look bad with the way we played. The defence were solid, the midfield worked hard and Emile Heskey was once again almost unstoppable. Owen looked way, way off the pace before eventually picking up a knock and going off. He was like the Owen of last season, and I don't think I've ever seen him look so slow. His fitness is a worry, and it's a real shame as a few weeks ago he was absolutely flying. Why can't we ever get all our strikers on form at the same time? Is there some sort of curse or what?
Stevie G was again superb, as were Barmby and Murphy, and I even thought Hamann played well! I just hope that we don't end up ruing those missed chances.
TEAM: Sander Westerveld; Jamie Carragher, Markus Babbel, Sami Hyypia, Djimi Traore (Steve Staunton); Danny Murphy (Gary McAllister), Steven Gerrard, Dietmar Hamann, Nick Barmby; Michael Owen (Vladimir Smicer), Emile Heskey:
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