Olympiacos open the Super League season with a tense 1–0 win over Atromitos — David Carmo rescues three points after El Kaabi misses a penalty | OneFootball

Three points. Clean sheet. League campaign started with a win.

On paper, Olympiacos did what a title contender is supposed to do against Atromitos at Karaiskakis. The match itself was much less comfortable.

José Luis Mendilibar’s team required an 82nd-minute goal from centre-back David Carmo after repeatedly failing to turn territorial dominance into goals, including an extraordinary moment when Ayoub El Kaabi attempted a Panenka penalty and watched Choutesiotis simply remain in the center of the goal to save it.

The result stabilizes the immediate mood after NEC.

The performance explains why Olympiacos are still aggressively rebuilding.

The encouraging part: Olympiacos created enough to win much earlier

This was not a match in which the attack produced nothing. Gazzetta counted six major chances in addition to the penalty. El Kaabi had a free header after ten minutes. Fortounis went narrowly wide from a free kick.

Gustavo Sá had a shooting opportunity. El Kaabi had another point-blank header saved immediately after halftime. Bruno was denied from close range. El Kaabi attempted a bicycle kick that Choutesiotis stopped.

Roca created another excellent chance for the Moroccan shortly before winning the penalty. From a chance-generation standpoint, Olympiacos did enough.

A 1–0 scoreline can reflect attacking dysfunction. This one reflected poor conversion plus excellent goalkeeping much more than a total inability to create.

Fortounis immediately restored some of the creativity Olympiacos had missed

The decision to start Kostas Fortounis from the left created the asymmetric structure we discussed before kickoff. He repeatedly drifted into central areas rather than behaving like a conventional winger. That allowed him to create from the half-space and deliver several of Olympiacos’ better balls into the penalty area.

His cross produced El Kaabi’s early header. His second-half service created another major opportunity.

This is the value Fortounis provides against deep domestic defenses. He does not need transition space.

He can manufacture chances from possession.

Gustavo Sá also justified the decision to use him centrally

Gazzetta specifically identifies Fortounis and Sá as the principal creative positives in the first half. Sá began as the No.10 with Mouzakitis and Hezze behind him, giving Mendilibar a more physically capable central attacking player without sacrificing technique. He did not produce the winning action, but his early involvement suggests that Olympiacos may already have a viable internal answer for some No.10 minutes. That matters while the club continues discussing expensive winger additions.

The real problem was execution inside the box

El Kaabi will receive the most attention because of the penalty. Understandably.

A Panenka at 0–0 in the 80th minute is always going to be judged harshly when the goalkeeper does not move. But focusing only on that kick would miss the larger issue. Olympiacos repeatedly arrived in good scoring positions and failed to finish. That is more concerning than one bad penalty choice. If the same quality of chances continues to be created, conversion will probably normalize. If Olympiacos require six major opportunities every week to score once, domestic title pressure will build quickly.

At the same time, it's not likely that the opposing goalkeepers will have hero performances like Choutesiotis did every week.

Carmo scoring the winner is both useful and slightly ironic

After all the attacking reinforcements, the breakthrough came from the center-back. And not through a conventional header from a corner. Carmo controlled the ball inside the penalty area and finished after Atromitos failed to clear Jota Silva’s recycled delivery. That says something positive about Olympiacos’ persistence. The attack did not stop after the missed penalty. Two minutes later, the team was back inside the box. That resilience matters.

Jota’s contribution is quietly significant

Jota Silva had only just recovered from injury. He started on the bench. Yet his involvement in the winning move demonstrates why his return matters immediately. Olympiacos do not simply need a collection of fixed-position attackers. They need players who can enter chaotic situations, move across positions and create second-phase danger. Jota did exactly that on the decisive play. That becomes even more valuable now that Armando González is being integrated and Taremi has left.

Defensively, this was considerably calmer than NEC

Atromitos created very little. OnSports notes that Stefan Ortega’s main first-half involvement came from Moutoussamy’s manageable 41st-minute shot, while the visitors’ best second-half threat was a deflected Zuber free kick that went narrowly wide. That is encouraging.

Olympiacos dominated territory without repeatedly being exposed behind their full-backs.

Against a much less dangerous opponent than NEC, that should happen. But after the transition problems in Europe, simply restoring defensive control is useful.

Smajlovic receiving the start also deserves attention

Mendilibar trusted Zinedin Smajlovic beside Pirola instead of beginning with Carmo or Retsos. That was a meaningful selection. The team preserved the clean sheet. Carmo then came from the bench and became the match winner. That is exactly what squad depth should look like: the player left out of the XI can still decide the match without the original selection necessarily being proven wrong.

Rodinei’s red card is the unnecessary negative

The match was effectively won. Atromitos had created almost nothing. And in stoppage time Rodinei produced a dangerous challenge on Tsiloulis and received a direct red. That is avoidable.

More importantly, it now creates another right-back complication while Pablo Maffeo has just officially left for Valencia and Olympiacos are trying to complete another full-back signing. Depending on the eventual disciplinary sanction, Mendilibar may need to rely more heavily on Manolis Saliakas in the next league fixture.

The timing could hardly be less convenient.

This match also validates the decision not to rush every new signing

Freuler and Tiknizyan were named in the squad but did not need to be forced into the starting XI simply to demonstrate that the rebuild had begun. Olympiacos generated plenty of chances with the existing structure.

The issue was finishing.

That gives Mendilibar the luxury of integrating players according to readiness rather than panic.

There will be plenty of time for the new squad to take shape.

The crowd’s reaction toward Mendilibar matters too

Gazzetta reports supporters chanted Mendilibar’s name after the goal and toward the end of the match.

That is notable given the criticism following the NEC elimination. It does not erase what happened in Europe.

It suggests the atmosphere can normalize quickly if the team wins and shows signs of responding.

Football environments are volatile. Saturday offered Mendilibar exactly the result he needed to begin rebuilding trust.

The result is reassuring; the finishing is the warning

The best version of tonight is simple:

Olympiacos dominated.

Created enough chances.

Did not concede.

Found a late winner.

Took three points.

The more demanding interpretation is also obvious: At home against Atromitos, they needed a center-back to rescue them in the 82nd minute after the starting striker missed chance after chance and then attempted a failed Panenka.

Both descriptions can be true. For Mendilibar, that is probably useful. He gets the points without receiving any illusion that the squad is finished. The rebuild continues.