Olympiacos Ease Past Atromitos — but All Eyes Now Turn to Real Madrid and a Defining European Test | OneFootball

Superleague 2025/2026 - Olympiacos vs Atromitos(Antonis Nikolopoulos/EUROKINISSI)

Olympiacos did what title winners are supposed to do.

They beat Atromitos 3–0, barely slipping into third gear, rarely looking threatened, and rotating just enough to keep legs fresh before one of the club’s most consequential Champions League nights in recent memory.

But beneath the comfortable scoreline lies a more complex story — one that reveals both the strength and fragility of this Olympiacos side as they brace for Real Madrid’s arrival at Karaiskakis.

The domestic routine is functioning. Europe is another matter entirely.

A Routine Win That Was Anything But Routine

José Luis Mendilibar was explicit after the match: he wasn’t pleased with the performance. And while that may sound like post-match manager-speak, anyone watching closely understood why.

Olympiacos opened flat — a recurring theme this season. The first 10 minutes resembled a warm-up phase rather than a competitive fixture. Passes were conservative, pressing triggers were late, distances were inconsistent. Atromitos generated two genuinely dangerous moments early, both shut down only because Kostas Tzolakis was quick off his line and alert to danger.

After that?It was largely one-way traffic.

The penalty earned by El Kaabi broke the tension. The Moroccan continues to frustrate and delight in equal measure: often wasteful in open play yet still relentless in his ability to occupy defenders and appear in high-value scoring positions. His underlying metrics — especially his dramatic underperformance relative to xG — remain a curiosity. But he keeps getting chances, and strikers who consistently appear in scoring zones tend to regress positively over time.

What changed the match definitively wasn’t the starter, though. It was the bench.

Mehdi Taremi and Roman Yaremchuk entered and immediately elevated Olympiacos’ threat profile. Taremi’s brace — one a gift, the other a moment of veteran composure as he sat the goalkeeper down before finishing — brings him to nine goal contributions in barely a third of El Kaabi’s minutes.

Yaremchuk added an assist and again looked the part of a complete modern forward: mobile, technical, selfless.

It’s an unfamiliar luxury for Olympiacos supporters: three strikers, all capable of starting, all capable of scoring. In a league where the margins between Olympiacos and the rest are widening again, this depth has domestic dominance written all over it.

But the match’s true value wasn’t the goals.It was the controlled minutes, the clean sheet, and the ability to rotate ahead of Real Madrid.

Nascimento’s Emergence and the Midfield Puzzle

The midfield selection was notable. With Dani Garcia resting, Mendilibar paired Santiago Hezze with Diogo Nascimento — and the young Portuguese midfielder continues to grow in importance.

Nascimento was everywhere: recycling possession, pressing intelligently, covering ground in transition. Those who dismissed him as a “Rio Ave player” in August are being forced to recalibrate. Mendilibar trusts him. Teammates trust him. And the difference in ball progression when he plays is increasingly obvious.

Hezze, meanwhile, delivered his trademark elasticity: covering huge spaces, breaking up play, disrupting Atromitos’ attempts at transition.

This double-pivot was functional against a mid-table Greek side. The question is whether it can survive the physical and technical chaos that Real Madrid will bring.

If recent matches are any indicator, the manager may revert to Dani Garcia for his experience — even if experience, in this case, is code for positioning discipline rather than athleticism.

The Press That Isn’t Pressing

If there is a single issue that still limits Olympiacos’ ceiling, it is the inconsistency of their high press. Against Atromitos, the first two pressing layers were too easily bypassed until the match settled.

Mendilibar was visibly furious on multiple sequences — especially moments when Chiquinho pressed at the wrong angle or when the front three failed to correctly time their traps. This is the area where Olympiacos feel furthest from last season’s Conference League runs. In those matches, the first 10 minutes were a suffocating storm. In many domestic matches this year, it is instead a gentle breeze.

Becoming elite in Europe requires that storm to return.

Champions League Math: The Needle Narrows

The Champions League league phase is unforgiving — and Olympiacos have already squandered opportunities:

Those two results have shifted the margins. Realistically, Olympiacos now need:

Ten points might squeak them into the knockout positions. Twelve would almost certainly guarantee it.

That calculus is why the Real Madrid match — as unbalanced as the matchup appears on paper — carries real weight. Even a draw could reshape the group.

Real Madrid at Karaiskakis: History, Atmosphere, and a Chance at Something Historic

Olympiacos supporters do not fear big nights. In fact, the club’s history is built on them: Barcelona, Arsenal, Juventus, Atlético, Dortmund, United — Karaiskakis has swallowed giants before.

Real Madrid is different.They are the end boss of European football.

Yet the timing favours Olympiacos more than anyone outside Greece may realise.

No one in Piraeus is pretending Olympiacos are favoruites. But belief is not naïveté — it is a byproduct of structure, identity, and a stadium that suffocates even the best visitors.

The tactical questions are fascinating:

Whatever the answers, this match is shaping up as a referendum on Olympiacos’ European ambition.

Can Mendilibar Magic Shine Again?

Olympiacos are not under any illusions. Madrid will have moments. Mbappé will run behind. Bellingham will drift between lines. Camavinga will manipulate the tempo. A single lapse can erase 80 minutes of good work.

But this Olympiacos side — for all its imperfections — has identity. It has character. And it has a fortress behind it.

If Real Madrid arrive with even a hint of arrogance, they will find a club ready to make them suffer.

And if Olympiacos can take anything from this match — even a point — the European conversation changes entirely.

For now, though, the message from Piraeus is simple:

Beat the teams you should.Test yourself against the giants.And make Karaiskakis a place where even Real Madrid feel the heat.

Wednesday will tell us whether this Olympiacos side is merely good…or something more. Watch our live show for the full conversation below!