First-Half fire enough as Olympiacos shut down Leverkusen’s hopes

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First-Half fire enough as Olympiacos shut down Leverkusen’s hopes

First-Half fire enough as Olympiacos shut down Leverkusen's hopes

Tue, Jan 20, 2026 ·

3 min read

First half

The Greek champions needed just two minutes to make their intentions clear. From an early corner, Costinha rose highest in the penalty area and powered home a header, feeding off the electric noise inside the stadium to give Olympiacos a dream start and an early 1–0 advantage.

That goal set the tone for the opening phase, as Olympiacos imposed themselves with extremely aggressive high pressing. Leverkusen struggled badly to cope and, for the first 25 minutes, found no real solution to bypass the home side's intensity. Possession changed hands rapidly in an end-to-end and physical contest, but the visitors were repeatedly forced into rushed decisions and long balls.

The absence of injured first-choice goalkeeper Mark Flekken was also noticeable for Leverkusen. His replacement, Janis Blaswich, lacked the same level of composure and distribution, and the Werkself were unable to build cleanly from the back under Olympiacos' relentless pressure.

Despite their difficulties, Leverkusen slowly began to create chances. Alejandro Grimaldo came close to equalising with a well-struck effort that nearly slipped past Konstantinos Tzolakis, but the Olympiacos goalkeeper reacted sharply to keep the ball out. Moments later, Lucas Vázquez found himself in space inside the box, meeting a low cross from the left by stretching a foot in front of his marker. From barely five metres out, however, he could only send the ball over the bar.

That miss proved costly. Just as Leverkusen looked set to wrestle back control and draw level, Olympiacos struck again on the counter. A swift break caught the visitors out of shape, and Mehdi Taremi showed his composure in front of goal, slipping the ball past Blaswich to double the home side's lead.

The goal capped an outstanding half for Olympiacos, who combined intensity with clinical finishing. At half-time, the scoreboard reflected their dominance: Olympiacos 2–0 Bayer Leverkusen, leaving the Bundesliga side with plenty to rethink during the interval.

Second half

After a breathless and intense first half, both sides emerged from the interval with noticeably more caution. The stakes were clear: the next mistake would likely decide the contest. As a result, the tempo dropped and risk-taking was kept to a minimum, particularly in the early stages of the second half.

Leverkusen's nervousness was evident throughout. The Bundesliga side committed a series of small, uncharacteristic errors in possession and build-up play, repeatedly halting their own momentum. Olympiacos, meanwhile, were content to defend compactly and protect their two-goal advantage without overcommitting.

The visitors' best opportunity to revive the game arrived in the 80th minute. Arthur threaded a superb pass through the Olympiacos defence to find Patrik Schick completely free in front of goal. It was the moment Leverkusen had been waiting for, but Schick failed to capitalise, unable to beat Konstantinos Tzolakis in a one-on-one. It summed up a frustrating night for the Werkself, where nothing quite went their way.

Set pieces appeared to offer a possible route back into the contest, especially with Alejandro Grimaldo's delivery posing a theoretical threat. Yet even in these situations, Leverkusen lacked precision and conviction, and Olympiacos dealt with the danger without too much alarm.

Olympiacos did not need to reach world-class levels in the second half. The foundation laid before the break proved sufficient against a hesitant and struggling Leverkusen side. By managing the game intelligently and avoiding costly errors, the Greek champions comfortably saw out the remaining minutes.

At full time, the scoreboard told the story: Olympiacos 2–0 Bayer Leverkusen — a result shaped by first-half ruthlessness and second-half composure.