Rijeka loses 0:1 to Olympiacos in the second leg of the Champions League playoff round
The Rujevica stadium got shaken to its very core by a roaring crowd earlier tonight, with more than 8000 fans of Rijeka chanting incessantly throughout the game. They didn’t stop when the home team received the only goal of the match, and they kept going even after all hope was lost: Olympiacos defeated Rijeka 1:0 and advanced to the group stage of the Champions League.
The night was one for the books: it was the first time the UEFA Champions League anthem was played in Rijeka.
The home team had a good start with two attempts by Gavranović and Gorgon, but the opponent was quick to fight back: after an unfortunate mistake by Gorgon who fumbled the ball, Odidja passed to Marin who went for an easy shot and put Olympiacos in the lead.
Just before the end of the first half, Rijeka’s goalkeeper Sluga got injured. He made it through the last two minutes and later returned to the pitch in obvious discomfort, getting replaced by Prskalo moments after.
Rijeka had multiple good opportunities in the second half, but none of the players managed to find the back of the net. Gavranović received a pass from Gorgon in the 54th minute and went for the shot, defended by Olympiacos’s keeper Kapino. A couple of minutes later, Gorgon sent the ball past the post. The biggest opportunity of the match came in the 79th minute when Mišić passed to Matei, whose attempt to lob Kapino didn’t go exactly as planned, failing to level the score.
Nabouhane presented Rijeka with the last threat before the end of the match, but his shot was stopped by Prskalo. Heber went for one last attempt to raise the score to 1:1, but sent the ball past the post.
It was the end of Rijeka’s Champions League dream, but they already secured their spot in the group stage of Europa League. The current Croatian champion might get some company on Thursday, when Dinamo, Osijek and Hajduk are playing the second leg of EL playoff round.
Rijeka: Sluga (51′ Prskalo); Martić, Elez, Župarić, Vešović; Maleš, Bradarić (77′ Matei); Heber, Mišić, Gorgon (61′ Kvržić); Gavranović
Olympiacos: Kapino; Ellabdellaoui, Retsos, Vuković, Koutris (61′ Figueiras); Gillet, Romao (80′ Fortounis); Carcela, Odjidja, Marin (66′ Seba); Nabouhane
