The little one’s chest showed the way to Olympiacos

Olympiacos left Agrinio defeated. Pedro Martins’ team lost 2-1 to Panetolikos in the first game of the Greek Cup quarterfinals. Now he will be chasing the result in next week’s rematch in Karaiskakis in a bid to snatch a ticket to the institution’s semi-finals.

The red and white came into play with several changes. Aside from the Copa Africa absentees and the injured Bouchalakis, the Portuguese coach also missed Vatslik, Mandi Kamara, Embila, Masoura, Reabciuk and Manolas for recovery reasons. Continuing in the championship is expected to be hot with back-to-back games and the breaths were needed. The starting line-up was correspondingly varied, and Martins gave the little ones a chance.

With the scent of Olympic B ‘

The Olympiacos starting XI had… the scent of a second team. Petros Bagalianis played in the defensive trio alongside Ba and Papadopoulos, while Giorgos Xenitidis and Vassilis Sourlis formed the Axis duo. At the same time, in the 62nd minute, Martins passed Fotis Kitsos instead of Mikal Karbovnik to make his team more aggressive.

These four players finished their work. Bagalianis had good presence in defense, which he is very good at. He has proven it in Super League 2 and in the nine games with the second team where he has conceded six goals when he plays. They believe him a lot at Olympiacos and that’s why he gets chances from the Portuguese coach.

Xenitidis and Sourlis took on the difficult task of replacing Embilas and Mandi Kamaras. They helped with their runs and the energy they brought to the field. Xenitidis made his sixth appearance in the first team and is aiming for further promotion.

His performances with the second team brought him back into the eye of Martins. As for Sourlis, the 19-year-old midfielder wants to prove that his position is mainly in the first team and games like those of the cup help him make the step up.

Finally, 18-year-old Fotis Kitsos is one of Olympiacos’ most promising prospects and Martins seem to appreciate him having featured in two cup games. With the second team he played nine games and scored one goal.

Martins appreciated the presence of the little ones

As Pantelis Diamantopoulos wrote, Olympiacos drove to Agrinio on motorbikes and hikers. The young people ran and the old people walked. If the Reds and Whites can benefit from the game against Panetolikos, it’s the presence of the four youngsters who played. They showed the way, for the appetite and energy everyone should have in the red and white.

In fact, Pedro Martins spoke with the best words about the players who came from the second team: “I’ve only seen good things from the little kids. Sourlis played a very good game, I can’t fault them, they’ve done a good job and they have a future ahead of them.

I believe in these guys, they can support the team in our program, which is difficult. “Even though we’re going through a difficult period, I believe in my team.”

They also nominate for the second game

The young footballers showed Martins that he can rely on them. He said that the follow-up program is difficult and your help is needed. Therefore, they applied for the second game of the quarterfinals in Karaiskakis. The Reds and Whites have a difficult game against PAS Giannina on Sunday (January 23, 7:30 p.m., NOVASPORTS PRIME, LIVE Sportish), while they are welcomed by PAOK after the cup game on January 30.

Olympiakos already have the absences of Copa Africa players (all went to the knockout stages), while in the midweek game against Panetolikos it is logical to give key players some breathing room. So the young players have to come up again and of course contribute to qualifying for the next phase. However, in Agrinio they showed that they have potential and justify Martins who has his eyes on them.

All of this is a reward for the second team and the work of Ariel Ibagasa. Finally, the primary purpose of Olympic B’ is to prepare young players for the first team. They “bake” them through the tough games of Super League 2 so they’re always ready to help and take the next step in their careers.