Olympiacos 2 West Ham 1: David Moyes pays price for much-changed line-up as limp Hammers fall to defeat
TURNS out it is not just plates that the Greeks enjoy smashing – it’s also David Moyes teams.
It was almost a decade ago that the Scottish coach, during his ill-fated Manchester United tenure, endured one of the worst nights of his managerial career here in Athens.
A 2-0 defeat in a Champions League last 16 first leg tie to Olympiacos, one that ultimately saw him get the sack a few months later from his dream job.
Nine years on, and Moyes has experienced another humbling evening at the hands of the Greek giants, bringing an end to West Ham’s 17-game unbeaten run in Europe.
The joyous tradition in Greece of smashing plates to ward off evil spirits will surely be commonplace in households across the capital for weeks to come.
Meanwhile, Moyes will be keen to toss a few dressing room teacups at some of his uninspiring players. A comeback never looked on the cards, not even after Lucas Paqueta’s late volleyed stunner and eight minutes added time.
Unlike at United, this Europa League defeat will not result in Moyes losing his job.
His current stature remains fully intact after last season’s Europa Conference League triumph and a promising Premier League start this campaign.
But the 60-year-old will have to hold his hands up on this one. In such a volatile atmosphere, and with victory potentially putting them in pole position to top Group A, he got his team selection badly, badly wrong.
Danny Ings’ presence leading the line was baffling. The 31-year-old brought about as much pace and dynamism as Greece’s famous Parthenon ruins atop Acropolis.
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Thilo Kehrer had a night to forget at right back, Said Benrahma was anonymous and Tomas Soucek produced a display that many West Ham fans had hoped were well behind him.
Moyes shuffled his pack to rest a few legs and shake off the effects of last weekend’s 4-1 Premier League loss at Aston Villa, while being forced to leave out Lukasz Fabianski due to illness.
Paqueta, Michail Antonio, Jarrod Bowen and Edson Alvarez were all chucked in on the second half, but by then it was too late. The damage had been done.
Slack defending allowed Kostas Fortounis to drive towards goal unchallenged and ripple Alphonse Areola’s bottom right corner in the 33rd minute.
And on the stroke of half time, Angelo Ogbonna’s farcical and unnecessary own goal doubled the hosts’ lead from a cross by Brazilian Rodinei. You plonker, Angelo.
West Ham’s knock-out stage hopes are far from over, with two wins from three group outings, but this will serve as a reminder that serious work still needs to be done.
The build-up was dominated by fears of Olympiacos’ Ultras ‘Gate 7’ producing similar violent antics to the ones that saw their league match with rivals Panathinaikos last Sunday abandoned due to a firework being launched at a substitute on the touchline.
There was no such trouble on this occasion, despite a threatening tifo banner pre-match that read: ‘Tonight you dine in hell’, inspired by the Greco-Persian war film ‘300’.
In fact, Olympiacos spent the majority of the first half feasting on treats offered up by a clumsy and passive West Ham side.
The East Londoners were crying out for Paqueta’s creativity and composure, Bowen’s darting runs in behind and Alvarez’s bite in the middle of the pitch.
An opener for Olympiacos seemed inevitable. Fortounis won possession, turned and drove in between a static duo of Soucek and James Ward-Prowse before a pin-point toe-poke.
The noise levels rose, and they continued to rise thanks to Ogbonna. Rodinei’s cross was nothing special, and should have been dealt with easily only for the Italian to misjudge the ball and comically flick it beyond the reach of Areola.
The visitors never recovered, at times looking resigned to taking the loss and heading home. Paqueta’s 87th-minute strike was special. If only he had been on the pitch from the off.
For Olympiacos, a special night, and a first win against English opposition on Greek soil for five years. For Moyes and West Ham, a first Euro defeat since May 5, 2022.
Should they aspire to win a second continental trophy on the spin, they cannot afford another car-crash of a night like this.
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Here is how all the action from Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium played out…