Youth League, Olympiacos 6 - 5 Inter on penalties

The European journey of Cristian Chivu's Inter has come to an end: the Nerazzurri fought hard and played well against Olympiacos, who resisted with ten men to take the match to penalties. The spot-kick missed by Cocchi, one of the standout performers during the 90', proved decisive. The first half was a tight and hard-fought match: at the start, it was Inter who tried to manage possession of the ball, but without making any real inroads into Sina's area. The first shot on goal came from Kamate from distance in the 17th minute, with the ball ending well off-target. Thus, began a phase of the match in which Inter were very lively and attacking: Olympiacos were pushed back into their own half of the pitch, with the wingers often strengthening the defensive trio. Cocchi was repeatedly dangerous down the left and some of Inter's best opportunities came from him: in the 19th minute, the full-back unleashed a powerful shot from the byline, with Sina keeping it out, before putting in a perfect corner for Stante to head down to Stabile, but the centre-back's header was weak from in front of goal. In the second part of the first half, Olympiacos gained some confidence: in the 22nd minute, Mouzakitis put in an interesting free-kick for Koutsidis, but the Greek central defender's header was off-target. Two minutes later, Papakanellos beautifully played in Kostoulas, but his effort was off the mark again. One of Inter's best chances fell to Berenbruch in the 26th minute: the midfielder got his a first-time shot off from the edge of the area following good play by Cocchi on the left. His attempt was missed by Prekates (one of the Greeks' best defenders) and deceived Sina, making him fumble the ball before scrambling to get it back in his grasp. Six minutes later, the Greeks claimed for a penalty: firstly, Pnevmonidis was stopped by Stabile, then Raimondi looked for the ball and possibly made contact with Kostoulas' feet, but the referee decided there was no foul and waved play on. In the closing stages of the half, Inter pressed forward again: firstly, Berenbruch brought the ball down in the area and saw his shot blocked by a defender, and then in the 40th minute Kamate incredibly missed the ball just a few yards out from goal following a lovely cross from Cocchi on the left. The first half ended with a shot from Sarr from a tight angle. The second half saw the same 22 as the first line up: the first big chance came for Olympiacos in the 52nd minute, again through the Mouzakitis-Koutsidis combination from a free kick. Raimondi made an extraordinary save from the Greek defender's header, but the move was stopped for offside. In the 56th minute, Stankovic shot pwoerfully with his right foot from outside the area: the Nerazzurri captain's shot was too central and easily stopped by Sina. Three minutes later, Quieto tried to get past Sarr, but the attacker failed to connect well. In the 65th minute, Koutsogoulas went on a mazy run between the Nerazzurri defenders and shot on goal, but Raimondi pushed the ball out. Inter had to dig in in this phase of the match and risked conceding in the 70th minute, when Raimondi once again denied Pnevmonidis' curling shot and then Papakanellos. In the 72nd minute, the match took a twist, with Papakanellos getting sent off for a second yellow card after a foul on Di Maggio. Olympiacos sat back and Inter looked to attack to find the winning goal. In the 75th minute, Cocchi unleashed a great left-footed shot from inside the area, but Sina makde a great reflex, with the help of the post. The Nerazzurri threw the kitchen sink in the last quarter of an hour: Olympiacos tried to break up the game and make time pass in every possible way, while Inter looked to increase the offensive pressure also thanks to subs De Pieri and Mosconi, who created a great opportunity in the 87th minute, but the youngster, born in 2007, shot weakly. The Nerazzurri were spared in the 88th minute as Olympiacos looked to counterattack: Kostoulas found Liatsikouras, whose low cross failed to find the target. In five minutes of injury time, Inter remained permanently in the Greeks' half, who blocked out every dangerous ball. In the penalty shootout, the first five were all put away before Cocchi's mistake sealed Inter's elimination and qualification for Olympiacos. The adventure in the 2023/24 Youth League ends here for Inter. Now, the Nerazzurri are next back in action in the league on Sunday 11 February against Empoli.

MATCH DETAILS

OLYMPIACOS 6-5 INTER on penalties (0-0)

Penalty-takers order: Mouzakitis (O) goal, Stankovic (I) goal, Bakoulas (O) goal, Di Maggio (I) goal, C. Kostoulas (O) goal, Owusu (I) goal, Liatsikouras (O) goal, Stante (I) goal, Tanoulis (O) goal, Sarr (I) goal, K. Kostoulas (O) goal, Cocchi (I) missed.

OLYMPIACOS (3-4-2-1): 1 Sina; 19 K. Kostoulas, 4 Koutsidis, 21 Prekates; 7 Koutsogoulas (22 Tanoulis 88'); 23 Bakoulas, 8 Mouzakitis, 3 Alafakis (24 Dama 84'); 11 Pnevmonidis (6 Liatsikouras 79'), 10 Papakanellos; 9 C. Kostoulas. Unused subs: 15 Exarchos, 14 Darviras, 20 Lolis, 27 Gatopoulos. Coach: Sotirios Sylaidopoulos.

INTER (4-3-3): 21 Raimondi; 2 Aidoo, 15 Stante, 6 Stabile (13 Alexiou 62'), 3 Cocchi; 8 Di Maggio, 4 Stankovic, 14 Berenbruch (18 De Pieri 85'); 10 Kamate (20 Mosconi 70'), 9 Sarr, 11 Quieto (7 Owusu 62'). Unused subs: 1 Tommasi, 5 Zanchetta, 16 Miconi. Coach: Cristian Chivu.

Stoppage-time: 1', 5'.

Booked: Stabile (I), Papakanellos (O), K. Kostoulas (O), C. Kostoulas (O).

Sent-off: Papakanellos (O) 73' for two yellow cards.

Referee: Miguel Nogueira POR Assistants: Freire Marques - Serra Jorge Pereira POR Fourth official: Balachoutis GRE