Olympiacos’ journey towards a second consecutive U19 Youth League championship continued its unstoppable course on Wednesday, as Stavros Pnevmonidis’ goal in the 70th minute was enough to outlast a tough Girona side at the Rentis Stadium – thus sending the Reds to the round of “16” of UEFA’s top U19 competition.
The Piraeus side was better throughout most of the game and had chances to post an even bigger score.
Another standout, besides the goal scorer, was goalkeeper Georgios Kouraklis, who entered as a substitute in the 40th minute, replacing an injured Iason Georgakopoulos, to make several crucial saves in the second half.
The next step in the Youth League is for coach Romain Pitau and his young players is to learn their opponent upcoming round of 16 draw, as well as the path towards the Final Four, which will again take place in Nyon, Switzerland.
The Swiss city has forever been etched in Olympiacos’ history, as it’s the site where the U19 club won the Youth League championship last season, one of the highlights in an otherwise stellar year for the popular Greek football organization.
The U19 knockout draw (round of 16 onwards) will take place on Friday, Feb. 14 in Nyon, with the games to be held on March 4 and 5.
Wednesday’s victors, besides holders Olympiacos, include past champions Real Madrid, Barcelona and Salzburg. According to UEFA, the latter pair went through on penalties, as did Manchester City and Sturm Graz, in its first appearance in the U19 tournament. Other teams qualifying for the round of “16” were Aston Villa, Sporting CP Trabzonspor, which became the first Turkish side to reach the last 16.
AZ Alkmaar was among Tuesday’s winners, as they eliminated past champions Benfica on penalties, similar to Atalanta’s win over debutants Stuttgart. Inter Milan, who topped the league phase with six wins in six games, advanced, as did two German sides, Bayern München and Hoffenheim.
The only remaining game in the round of “32” pits Atletico Madrid against SK Rapid Wien.
Second Half Header Decides Game
The play that decided the game came in the 70th minute, when midfielder Paraskevas Pleionis’ cross from the right side of Girona’s box that was headed into keeper Jordi Danso’s net by forward Stavros Pnevmonidis.
The game-winner was Pnevmonidis’ fifth in this year’s Youth League competition and marks the fourth consecutive game that he’s scored.
The line-ups:
OLYMPIACOS: Georgakopoulos (40′ Kouraklis), Karkatsalis,
Prekates, Panagakos, Dama, Liatsikouras, Plish (63′ Pleionis), Alafakis, Pnevmonidis (84′ Yusuf), Sillah, Papakanellos (84′ Toufakis).
GIRONA: Danso, Cortes (76′ Touray), Anzar, Aguilera, Bandia, Jordana, Silvero, Vazquez, Guillen (73′ Plaza), Kim, Arango (76′ Reverte).
MVP Pnevmonidis and his consecutive goal-scoring string
Stavros Pnevmonidis played a crucial party in Olympiacos’ victory over Girona, as the 18-year-old midfielder scored the only goal of the match and continued his impressive streak in the Youth League. The young forward has been scoring relentlessly in Europe, notching five goals in five games so far. His streak began in second round against Tallinn in Estonia, where he scored the first goal in Olympiacos’ 2-1 win.
After Wednesday’s game, the Olympiacos stars U19 striker spoke about the Piraeus team’s advance into the round of 16 and also referred to Charalampos Kostoulas and Christos Mouzakitis, two outstanding former U19 teammates of his who have been promoted to the pro team and are having a stellar season for Olympiacos FC. As he said, the two players are an inspiration.
