10-man Pafos hold Olympiacos to a goalless Champions League draw

Pafos made their Champions League debut by snatching a prestigious 0-0 draw in Piraeus against Olympiacos. An heroic result, achieved with a man down for over an hour due to Bruno's sending off and the early injury to their star player, David Luiz.

The Cypriot side built their achievement on a masterful defensive display: centre-backs and midfielders transformed into an impenetrable wall, ready to multiply on every ball. Olympiacos, returning to the Champions League after four years, crashed against the resilience of Juan Carlos Carcedo's men, unable to find a way to goal despite the support of their own fans.

Unforeseen events made the challenge almost impossible for Pafos, but the defensive organisation — already shown in the preliminaries, when they conceded only three goals against Maccabi Tel Aviv, Dynamo Kyiv and Red Star — held up once again. Luckassen, Pileas and Goldar dominated the area, repelling every cross, while Michail responded in the rare chances on target, with two decisive saves from Retsos.

Even going forward, Pafos tried to sting: Jaja fought in isolation, until he won a free kick from the edge of the area that Oršić grazed, sending the ball a step from the crossbar. In the last part of the match, the Cypriot team shut up shop, with fifty clearances inside the area and a last, heroic intervention by Goldar who saved on El Kaabi a few seconds from the end.

In the end, the final whistle was liberating: Pafos, the Cinderella of this Champions League, won a historic point thanks to an extraordinary lesson in resilience.