Olympiacos beat Volos 3-2 in Greek Cup as Gonzalez scores brace and Puerta debuts

First-half breakthrough at Karaiskakis

Olympiacos secured a 3-2 victory over Volos at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in the second round of the Greek Cup League Phase. Manager Jose Luis Mendilibar made multiple alterations to his starting lineup, fielding Colombian midfielder Gustavo Puerta from the start alongside Christos Filis in central midfield. Mexican forward Armando Gonzalez spearheaded the attack in place of the injured Ayoub El Kaabi, supported by Konstantinos Fortounis, Christos Koutsogoulas, and Alexios Sa. Volos lined up in a 5-3-2 tactical formation under manager Kostas Bratsos, with Alexei Koselev in goal and an attacking pairing of Maximiliano Furtado and Lambros Charalamboglou. The early stages progressed at a measured tempo, though Koutsogoulas registered an early shot in the 9th minute. Gonzalez missed a clear opportunity in the 32nd minute after goalkeeper Popovic cleared downfield, but Koselev stopped the breakaway attempt. The hosts converted their territorial control in the 42nd minute following a corner kick from Fortounis. Filis headed the ball toward the net, forcing a parry from Koselev, before Gonzalez scored from the rebound.

Second-half expansion and Puerta debut

The home side maintained their momentum immediately after the interval without personnel changes from either bench. In the 50th minute, right-back Marcus Pedersen delivered a cross into the penalty area, where Gonzalez timed his run to head the ball into the net for his second goal of the match. Gonzalez missed a further chance in the 62nd minute when Koselev again denied him in a one-on-one confrontation. Olympiacos capitalized on a midfield turnover in the 68th minute, with Gonzalez providing an assist to Puerta, who finished the chance to mark his starting debut with a goal. Roman Yaremchuk had a goal disallowed for a marginal offside in the 77th minute after placing the ball into the net.

Volos fightback in the final minutes

Holding a 3-0 advantage, Olympiacos relaxed their defensive pressure, allowing Volos to create scoring opportunities late in the contest. The visitors scored their opening goal in the 80th minute to reduce the scoreline to 3-1. Volos continued to press into attacking areas, scoring a second goal in the 88th minute when Charalamboglou placed a shot into the net. Charalamboglou, who previously played for Olympiacos, chose not to celebrate his goal against his former club. The visitors scored from both of their late attempts on target, but Olympiacos managed the remaining stoppage time to close out the 3-2 victory.

Standings and upcoming domestic fixtures

The victory preserves a perfect record for Olympiacos in the Greek Cup League Phase, placing them at the top of the table with six points from two matches. The Piraeus club previously secured three points in their opening fixture against AEL, where Gonzalez also scored. Volos remain on one point after two matchdays in the tournament phase. Mendilibar's squad turns its focus back to the domestic championship, where they host OFI at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium on 12 September at 19:00 for matchday 4 of the Greek Super League.