Carlos Carvalhal’s mistake that led to the deregulation of Olympiakos, Fatih Terim’s chessboard and those who made the difference for Panathinaikos. Lambros Balafas writes.
When a derby has a winner, it leads to easy conclusions, especially when they are based on the result. In this case, Panathinaikos is celebrating for the 2-0 at the expense of its “eternal” opponent, because it was the one that had substance, it was the one that scored, it was the one that took advantage of its moments.
Against the current, I will agree (partially) with Carlos Carvalhal and refer to his analysis of opportunities. Indeed, the “red and white” stepped on the opponent’s territory more times with good conditions, but that is not enough, if you don’t transform some of them into goals.
And the Portuguese coach put his… little hand in to remove elements from his team, which could have given a different outcome to the match.
One wrong choice led to total deregulation
The moment the lineups were announced, the vast majority of pundits and non-experts wondered about the selection of Richards in the starting lineup. Obviously, the Olympiakos coach also had in his mind the really good performance of his player in the respective match between the two teams at Leoforo for the Cup, where the Englishman was really influential, playing in the same position he was used yesterday.
Except that since then – due to injury – he didn’t play a minute, he was usually out of the game. He did not help his team in any way offensively, he has a large share of responsibility in the goal, he loses the duel to Kotsira, an imbalance is created in his side, from which the 1-0 by Bernard results.
The second question for the red and white eleven, concerned the absence of Fortounis.
We have written countless times about the influence of this particular footballer on Olympiakos, and the numbers show it. Without their leader, the “red and white” looked predictable, they got very easily outside the green area, but there they were unable to produce the big phase. The inspiration, the unpredictability was missing.
Rating distance is covered, chemistry is the problem…
The Piraeus threw away an entire half-time in the offensive part, while they had to manage the 1-0 against them from Bernard’s goal. Olympiacos is a team that constantly makes additions in the last transfer periods, chemistry cannot be found by magic, the bond we speak of is ignored and of course the team’s psychology is fragile.
When he receives a shock and is called upon to turn a situation around, he finds it doubly difficult, gets overwhelmed and most of the time doesn’t succeed.
At the end of the match, Carvalhal expressed his faith in the team and in overturning the data, of course he could not do otherwise, except that the distance from the top at this time is long. And it’s not just the score that is a deterrent, it’s also the chemistry, his opponents are teams that have worked together for a long time, they have a huge advantage, he does… bang from a distance.
Not everything is painted black for Olympiakos. The first samples of Karmos are more than encouraging, he exudes confidence in his game, he is excellent in duels and in his positioning. We will see him later to be sure, but the first impression… he wrote.
I started with Olympiakos and not with the winner Panathinaikos, because in these cases the difficulties accompany the loser. The greens slept much more soundly at night, they did what they had to in the derby.
They put enormous pressure on their great rival, they won in addition to the 3 points and the right to believe even more strongly in winning the championship. Bernard shouted it to Terim at the moment of his substitution, this mentality of one, quickly spreads throughout the dressing room.
The Bakasetas player above and Ruben from… the old days
The transfer of Bakaseta turns out to be a wise move, the captain of the National team, without appearing strongly, was the catalyst of yesterday’s victory, he was Panathinaikos’ best player on the right wing, he was the one who came in between Ortega and Richards in the first half, between to Kinney and Fortune in the replay. We said the little details make big differences in derbies.
The one who stood out the most was Ruben, Jovanovic’s favorite player. Calm, matter-of-fact, he provided confidence at the back between the two stoppers, while also getting the ball forward correctly and surely. Terim put aside the experiments and won a very important lot…
The clover reacted correctly to the defeat of Toumba, overturned the situation in the Cup and qualified for the semi-final, threw Olympiakos to the ropes, gained time to calm down, take advantage of the good program that follows and climb the rankings.
I understand the excitement of the team’s friends as well, we all know what the Panathinaikos – Olympiacos derby means, these victories whet the appetite for what’s to come. Except that for the sequel, more things will be needed than what we saw against the “red and whites”, AEK and PAOK this season seem more ready.
Of course, they have a game against each other in the next matchday, and from there will be an opportunity to close the gap.