Chances of going on to the next stage are now down to luck and mathematics
Only hero of last night’s game between Olympiakos and Dinamo in the third round of the group stage of Champions League was Felipe Pardo. By scoring two goals in the second half, this substitute player crushed Dinamo’s dreams of qualifying to the next stage of the championship. Of course, chances still exist, but too many things would have to align in order for it to actually happen.
Now back to last night’s game. Dinamo started well and scored in the 21st minute when Armin Hodžić scored after a great pass from Pivarić. Rog almost increased the lead in the 39th minute but ended up short. Olympiakos had few good chances, even missed a penalty, but it was the entrance of Felipe Pardo in the 65th minute that changed the course of the game. No only did he equalize less than a minute after stepping off the bench, he also caused Pivarić to be sent off for a second yellow card (very unnecessary foul by the Dinamo player) and finally earned the Greeks all three points in the 89th minute by rolling the ball past Dinamo’s goalkeeper Eduardo.
In the next round on November 24 Dinamo is off to London to see if they can repeat their fantastic first game against Arsenal. In the last game of the first round of this year’s Champions League Dinamo will play against Bayern in Zagreb on December 9. The only thing that remains to be seen now is will there be a change on Dinamo’s bench, in other words, will Dinamo get a new coach, considering that not too many coaches under Zdravko Mamić’s reign managed to record 4 losses in 5 consecutive games and still keep their job. But then again, firing your own brother cannot be an easy task, can it?
65th-minute strike.
