Olympiacos suffered their second defeat of the summer pre-season after a costly defensive collapse handed Belgian side Antwerp a 3-0 victory at the Bosuil Stadium in Antwerp. The Greek champions matched their hosts for much of the contest but conceded three goals in an 11-minute spell between the 68th and 79th minutes after a series of defensive mistakes. Head coach José Luis Mendilibar fielded a mixed starting lineup against an Antwerp side preparing to begin its Belgian league campaign on August 7.
Antwerp created the better chances in a quiet first half, with goalkeeper Popovic making important saves from Sommers in the 10th and 15th minutes. Olympiacos nearly broke the deadlock shortly after the break when Filis fired narrowly wide following an impressive run by Gelson Martins in the 49th minute. The breakthrough came in the 68th minute when Renders delivered a cross that deflected off Mejia, sending the ball looping over Popovic and allowing Sommers to score from close range.Advertising1 (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Antwerp doubled its advantage six minutes later after Olympiacos failed to clear the ball, with substitute Verstraetendrilling a powerful first-time strike into the net.
Sommers completed the scoring in the 79th minute, meeting another cross from Renders with an acrobatic finish at the far post. Olympiacos came close to pulling a goal back in the 83rd minute, but Bakoulas struck the post. The Greek side will play AZ Alkmaar on Saturday in its final warm-up match before facing NEC Nijmegen in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.
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