Olympiacos have qualified for the Europa League after finishing third in their champions league table, beating fourth place Red Star Belgrade. The Greek team broke the deadlock in the 88th minute with a late penalty by Youssef El Arabi, after Red Star substitute Jander carelessly handled the ball.
Both teams had already been eliminated from the Champions league, with only a place in the Europa League knockout stages at stake.
“We tried everything tonight,” said Olympiakos winger Giorgos Masouras. “We never like to say that the ball won’t go in when playing any game. But it eventually did and I think the result was fair.”
Vladan Milojevic, the Red Star coach who coached and played in the Greek league, said he had no complaints after finishing last in a group that included Bayern Munich and Tottenham. “Our journey in Europe is over. My players? I am proud of them,” Milojevic said. “We countered Olympiakos effectively but in the end, the game was decided on two penalties.”
