Dinamo Zagreb vs Olympiakos Piraeus - Olympiacos look to build on Gunners triumph against Dinamo Zagreb
Posted Monday, October 19, 2015 by PA
Olympiacos midfielder Esteban Cambiasso hopes his team-mates can build on their surprise victory at Arsenal when they visit Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The Greek side bounced back from a 3-0 home defeat to Bayern Munich in their Group F opener with a 3-2 win in London last month.
The victory at the Emirates stadium was a first for Olympiacos on English soil in 13 attempts and it was also their first away win in European competition after six straight defeats.
"We scored three goals against Arsenal, which is not an easy task at all," Cambiasso said on his club's official website. "Olympiacos learned to withstand the pressure; it's of course the result of team work.
"We learned to sacrifice things for each other and this victory on English soil is a major success for Olympiacos."
Cambiasso says the team must now have the same bold attitude in Zagreb that they had in London.
"We went to Arsenal's home to play football and not park the bus," he said. "This was the key to our success.
"We not only tried to defend, but also to counter-attack as fast as possible in order to score."
Cambiasso will not be able to help his side in Croatia, though, as he will be absent with a calf injury.
That will make it even more of a challenge for the Greeks, who are level on three points with Dinamo in Group F and three points adrift of pool leaders Bayern.
"We haven't achieved anything yet," the Argentinian said. "I don't know any teams that have qualified for the next round with three points.
"We will therefore continue on the same pace, doing the same job.
"We want to qualify, but the win at Arsenal does not change anything, it just puts us in a good position."
Olympiacos go into the encounter at the Maksimir stadium in sizzling form domestically.
Saturday's 4-0 home triumph over AEK was Olympiacos' seventh win in seven games in the Super League and lifted them six points clear of nearest rivals Panathinaikos, who have a game in hand.
Dinamo also go into the contest in fine spirits after beating city rivals NK Zagreb 4-1 on Friday to remain clear at the summit of the Croatian top flight, one point above Hajduk Split.
Dinamo have ever gone past the group stages of the Champions League before and, despite sitting level with Olympiacos on points after beating Arsenal 2-1 before losing 5-0 to Bayern, midfielder Josip Pivaric reckons his team are underdogs.
"Olympiacos are favourites," Pivaric said on his club's official website. "But they don't always win.
"We expect a tough game and we know we have to play well in order to get a good result.
"But I believe we can do it.
"We need to play like we did against Arsenal when we were dying for each other."
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