González Fires Olympiacos to Third Straight Europa League Win Over Sparta Praha
Olympiacos beat Sparta Praha 1-0 at the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus on Thursday, October 22, in matchday 3 of the Europa League, completing a third consecutive league phase win to go with the two victories they had already banked earlier in the campaign.
The match was a tight, cagey affair for long periods, with neither side able to find a clear way through a well-organised opponent. Olympiacos eventually found the breakthrough late on, when Mexican forward Armando "Hormiga" González scored in the 78th minute to settle what had been a tense contest in front of their home crowd. It was González's second goal of the league phase, after he had come off the bench to score the winner in Olympiacos's matchday 2 trip to Marseille, and his third in all European and domestic cup competitions since joining the club this season.
The result lifts Olympiacos up to fifth in the 36-team league phase table, continuing their perfect start to the competition with three wins from three matches, after opening the campaign with victories over Jagiellonia Białystok at home and Marseille away. Sparta Praha, by contrast, drop to 16th after a result that halts the momentum they had built earlier in the group stage, where they had picked up four points from their opening two fixtures, including a draw with Lillestrøm.
The win keeps Olympiacos firmly in contention for a top-eight finish and direct qualification to the knockout stage, sparing them the play-off round that teams finishing further down the table must navigate. It continues what has been a strong European campaign for the Greek side under coach Imanol Alguacil, who has now overseen a run of four matches unbeaten across the Europa League and the Greek Super League. Olympiacos will be looking to carry that momentum forward as they aim to consolidate their position among the competition's form teams heading into the second half of the league phase schedule.