Olympiacos 2-1 Dinamo Zagreb: Pardo strikes late to seal vital win
Felipe Pardo's second-half double earned Olympiacos a 2-1 victory over Dinamo Zagreb and sent the Greek side six points clear of Arsenal in Group F.
Zagreb looked set to pull off a shock when Armin Hodzic crashed in a first-half header to give the visitors the lead at Karaiskakis Stadium before Kostas Fortounis had a second-half penalty saved.
But Pardo spared Fortounis' blushes when he netted within seconds of his introduction as a substitute, and the Colombian scored the winner in the final minute to put Olympiacos on the verge of the last 16.
A point in either of Marco Silva's team's last two group games against Arsenal and Bayern Munich will seal their progression to the knockout phase, with both the Gunners and Dinamo needing two wins and an Olympiacos defeat against Bayern to overtake them.
This victory extended Olympiacos' unbeaten run to 10 matches in all competitions but Silva's men were given a stern test by battling Dinamo despite Josip Pivaric's late sending off for the visitors.
Amid a cacophony of noise from the home crowd, the game began at a fast pace and Dinamo pressed as they sought to restrict their hosts' time and space on the ball.
The early chances fell the way of the home side and Hernani should have opened the scoring when he connected with Arthur Masuaku's cross, but the Portuguese winger looped his header just over the target.
Just as it looked like Olympiacos were settling into their stride, Pivaric found room down the left wing and sent over a cross that found the unmarked Hodzic, whose header slammed against the underside of the crossbar and into the net.
The home side looked to hit back before half-time but their best chance was squandered when Seba broke into the box and opted to shoot rather than cross to Brown Ideye, with Eduardo making a comfortable save.
Pajtim Kasami went closer just after the break, driving a powerful shot just over the crossbar, but Olympiacos suffered a blow when Alberto Botia limped off with a hamstring injury.
They seemed to have been handed a lifeline when Ideye was brought down by Goncalo Santos in the box - but Eduardo pulled off a superb one-handed save to deny Fortounis from the spot and the midfielder blazed the rebound over.
Dinamo lost their goalscorer Hodzic, who was withdrawn with bruised ribs, but Zoran Mamic's side continued to frustrate their hosts with their dogged defending all over the pitch.
The tide finally turned when Silva sent on Pardo for Hernani. Within a minute, Pardo in on goal following Ideye's neat turn and pass and he he tucked the ball into the corner of the net.
Dinamo's chances of holding out for a draw were reduced when Pivaric clumsily brought down Pardo and was shown a second yellow card by referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz.
The sending off left the visitors exposed in the closing stages and Pardo secured all three points with a coolly taken finish inside the penalty area to spark celebrations in Piraeus.
Felipe Pardo's second-half double earned Olympiacos a 2-1 victory over Dinamo Zagreb and sent the Greek side six points clear of Arsenal in Group F.
Zagreb looked set to pull off a shock when Armin Hodzic crashed in a first-half header to give the visitors the lead at Karaiskakis Stadium before Kostas Fortounis had a second-half penalty saved.
But Pardo spared Fortounis' blushes when he netted within seconds of his introduction as a substitute, and the Colombian scored the winner in the final minute to put Olympiacos on the verge of the last 16.
A point in either of Marco Silva's team's last two group games against Arsenal and Bayern Munich will seal their progression to the knockout phase, with both the Gunners and Dinamo needing two wins and an Olympiacos defeat against Bayern to overtake them.
This victory extended Olympiacos' unbeaten run to 10 matches in all competitions but Silva's men were given a stern test by battling Dinamo despite Josip Pivaric's late sending off for the visitors.
Amid a cacophony of noise from the home crowd, the game began at a fast pace and Dinamo pressed as they sought to restrict their hosts' time and space on the ball.
The early chances fell the way of the home side and Hernani should have opened the scoring when he connected with Arthur Masuaku's cross, but the Portuguese winger looped his header just over the target.
Just as it looked like Olympiacos were settling into their stride, Pivaric found room down the left wing and sent over a cross that found the unmarked Hodzic, whose header slammed against the underside of the crossbar and into the net.
The home side looked to hit back before half-time but their best chance was squandered when Seba broke into the box and opted to shoot rather than cross to Brown Ideye, with Eduardo making a comfortable save.
Pajtim Kasami went closer just after the break, driving a powerful shot just over the crossbar, but Olympiacos suffered a blow when Alberto Botia limped off with a hamstring injury.
They seemed to have been handed a lifeline when Ideye was brought down by Goncalo Santos in the box - but Eduardo pulled off a superb one-handed save to deny Fortounis from the spot and the midfielder blazed the rebound over.
Dinamo lost their goalscorer Hodzic, who was withdrawn with bruised ribs, but Zoran Mamic's side continued to frustrate their hosts with their dogged defending all over the pitch.
The tide finally turned when Silva sent on Pardo for Hernani. Within a minute, Pardo in on goal following Ideye's neat turn and pass and he he tucked the ball into the corner of the net.
Dinamo's chances of holding out for a draw were reduced when Pivaric clumsily brought down Pardo and was shown a second yellow card by referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz.
The sending off left the visitors exposed in the closing stages and Pardo secured all three points with a coolly taken finish inside the penalty area to spark celebrations in Piraeus.
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