Girondins Bordeaux survived a second-half scare to grab a 2-1 win over Olympiakos Piraeus and give France a second team in the Champions League quarter-finals.
|Last Updated: Mar 18, 2010, 09:09 AM IST|Source: Bureau
Bordeaux: Girondins Bordeaux survived a second-half scare to grab a 2-1 win over Olympiakos Piraeus and give France a second team in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Bordeaux, leading 1-0 from the first leg, went further clear through an early Yoann Gourcuff free kick and with the visitors down to 10 men from the 60th minute they appeared to have the tie firmly in hand.
Not so. The Greek side levelled through Kostas Mitroglou in the 65th minute and Bordeaux were reeling when captain Alou Diarra was sent off three minutes later.
Bordeaux held their nerve, though, and a goal from Marouane Chamakh two minutes from time sealed a 3-1 aggregate win that took them through along with Olympique Lyon -- the first time France have had two teams in the quarter-finals since 2004.
"We made it hard for ourselves in the second half," Gourcuff told French TV channel Canal Plus. "But we had a fantastic first half, we should actually have been 2-0 or 3-0 up at the break."
"Now, we just hope to avoid Barcelona," coach Laurent Blanc told reporters.
His Olympiakos counterpart, Bozidar Bandovic, said: "Congratulations to Bordeaux. I think we were the better side in the second half. If the players had had more self belief, it could have been a different story."Flying Start
Bordeaux got off to a dream start, with Gourcuff scoring from the edge of the box with a whipped free kick into the far top corner.
Blanc`s side, who had conceded only two goals from eight games in the competition, could have secured their qualification before the break.
Gourcuff collected a lobbed pass from Benoit Tremoulinas before rushing through the defence only to be denied by goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, who dived at his feet, in the 40th minute.
Four minutes later, the former AC Milan player fired another free kick that smashed the bar.
Olympiakos, reduced to 10 men when Matt Derbyshire was sent off for a second booking with an hour gone, looked thoroughly beaten but turned the tide.Mitroglou fired home a stunning volley from a throw-in and Bordeaux were also reduced to 10 men when Diarra got his second yellow card.
Bordeaux`s game deteriorated but the French champions held on until Chamakh sealed their progress when he headed home at the far post from a Tremoulinas cross.
Olympiakos even ended up with nine men when Olof Mellberg was sent off long after the 90 minutes were up.
Bureau Report
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.