Hames and Bakabu finished early and then thoughts turned to the avenue derby

James Rodríguez has recorded two goals (against PAOK and Lamia) and two assists (against OFI and Panaitolikos) in Olympiakos’ last four games in La Liga. For his part, Bakabou has recorded four goals and one assist in six games at the tournament.

So what would be more logical for the red-whites that the two strikers also clean up against Lamia? The two footballers made it within six minutes of the game’s first half hour and then she and her teammates thought about the derby with Panathinaikos at Leoforos.

In the first half Olympiacos took advantage of the gaps in Lamia’s defence, scored two goals and from then on everything became easier for the Piraeus team.

Notably, the first goal saw the ball go through the feet of Papastathopoulos, Doi, Avila and Inbom Huang, who assisted Hames, who scored with a high-hanging header.

It was a well-organized attack, with several players working together and a goal thanks to the quality of the Colombian striker. On the second goal, Doi’s deep ball and Bakabu’s run, which eluded Adejo, was half the goal before Congolese centre-forward Saranov scored.

The six points of Olympiacos victory

Assists Inbom Huang and Doi and goalscorers Hames and Bakabou were the standouts for Olympiakos, but six other points are worth noting:

firstin Samasekou’s first appearance as a starter, who was good defensively, with many runs and showed that he can clearly help Olympiakos.

Secondlyin the fact that the Red-Whites kept a clean sheet in defense for the second consecutive league game (Panaitolikos and Lamia).

Third, in Marcelo’s first appearance as a left-back. The Brazilian came on as a substitute in the 60th minute and had a positive image. He helped a lot offensively while clearing the ball twice with defensive tackles.

If he had played more concentrated, he could have scored after a pass from Hames (73′), but his shot went wide. He came on at a point when Olympiacos had sealed victory and didn’t put much pressure on the defence.

FourthBiel’s good performance, who could have scored for the second league game in a row, but Saranov cleared the ball hard and impressively in three good shots from the Spanish striker.

Fifthin the good cooperation for another match between Papastathopoulos and Doi.

Sixth, in which Olympiacos had one more game with player losses due to injuries. Ba left the game early with a sprained left ankle and Valbuena had a right adductor problem.

The improvements Olympiacos need

From there, the Red-Whites need to improve pressure near the opponent’s area, increase transfer speed and find automations in attack that allow them to reach goal more easily. All of this, of course, after finding the right balance with defense.

What’s important for Mitchell and the players at the moment is winning the derby with Panathinaikos to close the gap to the top.

However, over the next four days, the Spanish coach and the Reds and Whites will first have to grapple with Nantes and how Olympiacos will end their Europa League commitments. After all, Mitchell has in mind the Olympians of the championship in relation to that of Europe.