Olympiacos and NEC Nijmegen draw 0-0 in Champions League qualifier, leaving tie open for Dutch return leg

Olympiacos failed to break down a resilient NEC Nijmegen side in Piraeus, with the first leg of their Champions League third qualifying round match ending in a goalless stalemate. The Greek side had the better of the first half, while the Dutch visitors grew into the game after the break, but neither could find the net.

First-half pressure without reward

Olympiacos started with intensity and created the first clear chance in the 13th minute. Christos Mouzakitis delivered a corner and David Carmo rose to meet it with a header, but NEC goalkeeper Robin Cretaž made an instinctive save. On the follow-up, a header from Panagiotis Retsos went wide. NEC responded seconds later when a shot from Lebreton flew just over the bar, though the flag was raised for offside.

The hosts continued to push forward. In the 36th minute, Rodinei forced Cretaž into a good save from distance, and two minutes later the NEC keeper was called upon again to deny Ayoub El Kaabi's left-footed strike. NEC threatened sporadically, with Bischof cutting in from the left in the 20th minute before Saliakas blocked his shot for a corner, and Seri firing wide from a tight angle in the 29th. The visitors also hit the woodwork in the 32nd minute through a Lebreton header, but the effort was ruled out for an earlier offside against Seri.

Just before the interval, NEC came closest to scoring. In the 45th minute, Linsen struck a right-footed shot from outside the area towards the top corner, but Olympiacos goalkeeper Popović launched himself to tip the ball over for a corner.

NEC grows after the break

The second half saw the Dutch side apply more pressure. In the 53rd minute, Monteiro unleashed a powerful shot from outside the box that forced Popović into a sharp one-handed save. A minute later, Bruno had to intervene to clear the ball just before it reached Linsen, with NEC having committed several players forward.

Olympiacos coach José Luis Mendilibar made a flurry of substitutions in the 56th minute, including bringing on Gelson Martins for Roca, but the changes did not immediately unlock the NEC defence. The visitors continued to look dangerous, while Olympiacos struggled to create clear openings. In the 68th minute, Cretaž came out to punch away a dangerous cross from Bruno, and in the 74th he was quick off his line to smother the ball ahead of El Kaabi during a promising Olympiacos counter-attack.

What comes next

The return leg will be played on Tuesday, 11 August, at the Goffertstadion in Nijmegen. The winner of the tie will advance to the Champions League play-off round, where they will face the winner of the Union Saint-Gilloise versus Bodø/Glimt pairing. Should Olympiacos be eliminated, they will drop directly into the league phase of the Europa League.

Team selections

Mendilibar sprang surprises with his starting eleven. He selected Popović in goal, Saliakas at right-back instead of Maffeo, and Bruno on the left, with Retsos and Carmo as the centre-back pairing. Garcia and Mouzakitis started in midfield, with Rodinei on the right wing, Roca on the left, and Chiquinho playing behind lone striker El Kaabi. The injured Ese was left out of the squad, along with Taremi, Jaremchuk, and Clayton, who were not registered on the European list.

NEC manager Dick Schröder set his team up in a 3-4-3 formation, leaving Tadić and Mor on the bench. Cretaž started in goal behind a back three of Storm, Sandler, and Vonville, with Waisa and Lebreton as wing-backs and Monteiro and Nejasmits in central midfield, supporting the forward trio of Bischof, Seri, and Linsen.