Substitute Felipe Pardo kept Olympiakos on track for a place in the Champions League round of 16, scoring twice in the second half for a 2-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb.
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Then on the 65th Pardo scored within one minute of his introduction on the pitch, as he collected a pass from Brown Ideye to drive the ball home with his left foot from inside the area.
The victory left Olympiacos needing only a draw in their next two matches to edge Arsenal out of the round of 16.
Despite early pressure from Olympiacos, it was the visitors who broke the deadlock in the 21st minute when Hodzic latched onto Pivaric’s testing cross from the left wing to send a powerful header past Olympiacos goalkeeper Jimenez Roberto from seven yards out.
“It’s a highlight of my career so far”. I did it for my great teammates… they were flagging after that penalty miss.
“I think we could have won it”, he said.
The game’s first meaningful chance came in the seventh minute when Olympiacos midfielder Kostas Fortounis fired narrowly wide from 25 yards out.
Wednesday’s match was played without away fans following an agreement between the two clubs over fears of crowd trouble. Cambiasso, Ideye and Masuaku all bring different attributes to the team and Cambiasso as one of the most experienced players in Europe will bring a calm under pressure to the side that should see them through nervy games like this one.
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Dinamo Zagreb face a tough task here against a very good Olympiakos side.
