Slick Olympiacos leave Benfica standing

Diogo Luis Santo starred as Olympiacos CFP banished memories of their opening-day defeat by Galatasaray AŞ in comprehensive fashion, a 5-1 victory leaving SL Benfica on the brink of a UEFA Cup exit.

Good timing
The tone for the evening was set in the opening 60 seconds when Luciano Galletti fired the home side in front and by 24 minutes Christos Patsatzoglou and Diogo had put the hosts 3-0 up. David Luiz's close-range volley reduced the arrears after the half-hour but Fernando Belluschi restored Olympiacos's three-goal cushion by the interval and the lively Diogo had the last word eight minutes into the second half.

Immediate blow
The result puts Olympiacos firmly in control of their own destiny and leaves the Portuguese visitors rooted to the foot of Group B, needing an unlikely set of results to reach the last 32. In truth, they were never in the contest after Galletti had delivered his devastating early blow, rifling in from an acute angle as the hosts surged forward from the off. On 18 minutes Patsatzoglou made it 2-0, scooping the ball over Quim after Benfica had failed to clear and Diogo was soon exposing more defensive frailties as he outwitted two defenders and strode clear before stroking the ball in.

Fleeting hope
Aside from a Nuno Gomez effort disallowed for offside with the scores still at 1-0 the Portuguese outfit had shown little attacking endeavour but were given a lifeline when a right-wing corner found Luiz unmarked and the defender made no mistake. Sadly for Benfica, there were plenty of those at the other end, and a minute before half-time Diogo fed Galletti, whose centre was slid in at the far post by Belluschi. Diogo added further gloss in the second half as Olympiacos cruised home.