Beşiktaş got the result they wanted, but the real test is yet to come

Coming away from Piraeus with a 1-1 draw against Olympiacos can hardly be considered a bad result, but it can be a threatening one. Although Beşiktaş came back in the second half and controlled the game after scoring an equalizer, Olympiacos found Beşiktaş's soft-spot, the area between the defense and the defensive midfielders. Thus, the first half was played between Olympiacos forwards and Beşiktaş defenders, thanks to the Greek side's decent press in the final third.

If Beşiktaş can find a way to overcome this press in the second leg, Olympiacos are not capable of changing their attacking system to another and they would probably collapse, but given they are much more dangerous in away games, this draw should not provide relief for anyone at Beşiktaş.

First of all, remember the fate of successful Turkish side Osmanlıspor against Olympiacos, who got a goalless draw from Piraeus but were destroyed by three goals at home. Olympiacos's game is a mixture of counter-attacking and counter-pressing, but they neither have the physical capacity to maintain the strategy throughout the 90 minutes nor the tactical quality.

They knew that Beşiktaş's defense would panic and make simple mistakes when encountered with an intense press, and the fact that Şenol Güneş has not prepared a set-piece to counter it. Thus, they kept pressing Marcelo and Tosic in Beşiktaş's defense until Tosic made the mistake that led to 36-year-old veteran Esteban Cambiasso's first goal in seven months.

However, Olympiacos made the wrong move after scoring, and they slowly lifted their siege on Beşiktaş's defense and let Şenol Güneş's team break before they started to play more aggressively. It should have been obvious to caretaker manager Vasilis Vouzas that Beşiktaş would eventually turn to a more attacking game, and then the question should have been how to stop it.

Rather, Olympiacos let Beşiktaş grow into the game without a press and pass the midfield easily by sitting deep in their half. Therefore, it was no great surprise to see Beşiktaş more effective in the second half, but seeing Olympiacos being so ineffective was a bit surprising.

On the other hand, Beşiktaş should spend more time thinking about why they have trouble getting from defense to attack under a press, and why they fail to create enough opportunities. Their goal came from an obvious goalkeeping mistake and other than that there was only one moment when Beşiktaş had a clear chance.

Now, seeing as the opponent was out of the game during the second half, why couldn't Beşiktaş dominate the game? If the Beşiktaş does not have a strategy that is enough to dominate the game against a team like Olympiacos, how can fans and executives think that their team can win the Europa League. More importantly, how can they guarantee that Olympiacos cannot deliver another blow like they did against Osmanlıspor? I believe all the cards are on the table and there is no theoretical or practical reason to believe Beşiktaş can eliminate Olympiacos easily.