Olympiakos was eliminated from Champions League qualifying Tuesday after NEC Nijmegen came from behind to win 2-1 after extra time in the second leg of their third qualifying-round tie.
The Greek side, which drew 0-0 at home in the first leg last week, took the lead shortly after halftime when Moroccan striker Ayoub El Kaabi capitalized on a mistake by NEC goalkeeper Gonzalo Crettaz. But Bryan Linssen equalized in the 70th minute, and Olympiakos was reduced to 10 men 10 minutes later when Kostas Fortounis was sent off following a VAR review for a heavy challenge on Darko Nejasmic.
NEC took advantage of the numerical superiority in extra time, with substitute Emre Mor, a former Olympiakos player, scoring the decisive goal five minutes into the additional period. NEC held on despite late pressure from Olympiakos to reach the final qualifying round, where it will face Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt for a place in the Champions League league phase.
The defeat ended Olympiakos’ hopes of reaching Europe’s premier club competition and also carried a significant financial cost. A place in the Champions League league phase would have earned the Greek club €18.62 million. Instead, Olympiakos will enter the Europa League league phase, where it is guaranteed €4.3 million, with additional payments of €450,000 for each win and €150,000 for each draw.
