Olympiacos Piraeus put on a clinical display to beat Larissa 4-0 in the first round of the Greek Cup on Tuesday evening. The visitors scored through four different players, with a goal every eleven minutes roughly, and never looked in danger after the opening strike. And here's the thing — the result says one thing, but the match played out differently than the scoreline suggests.
Larissa started brighter than their recent form might have indicated, winning their previous two league matches convincingly. But the visitors took control when A. Gonzalez struck in the thirty-fourth minute. The home side had already picked up two yellow cards by then, one each to M. Bousis and A. Koutsogoulas, and the tension showed in their body language rather than any tactical shift.
By the time the second half began, Olympiacos were already two goals ahead. G. Sa doubled the lead in the forty-ninth minute, and B. Onyemaechi added a third just five minutes later. The home side made three changes at once in the sixty-first minute, bringing on N. Nitsos and K. Papageorgiou while removing M. Bousis — to be fair, they were already out of the contest.
J. Roca made it four in the sixty-sixth minute, and that was essentially the story of the night. Olympiacos finished with nine shots on target compared to Larissa's one, though both sides recorded fifty per cent possession. The visitors had more attacks overall, one hundred and thirteen to one hundred and three, but quality over quantity told.
Larissa's recent run had suggested confidence — victories against Kalithea and Trikala, a win over Atromitos — but this was a different competition and a different standard. Olympiacos showed why they're expected to go far this season, taking their chances ruthlessly and controlling the tempo from start to finish.