Olympiacos don´t fear Bayern – Silva

Olympiacos coach Marco Silva insisted he does not fear Champions League rivals Bayern Munich after his side moved to within a point of qualification from Group F.

With Olympiacos 1-0 down against Dinamo Zagreb, Silva turned the game by introducing Colombian winger Felipe Pardo, who scored twice to secure a victory that moves the Greek champions level on points with Bayern.

The two sides will face each other in Germany in the next round of matches, but Silva is confident his men can compete against Pep Guardiola’s dominant team.

“I am not afraid nor Guardiola nor Bayern,” said Silva, whose side went down 3-0 against the Bundesliga winners on home soil in September. “But we must admit that we are playing maybe the best team in the world, or at least one of them.

“You run the risk. It is difficult night, but we’re going with faith and effort.

“We won’t feel fear.”

Pardo’s double strike let Olympiacos off the hook after Kostas Fortounis had missed a penalty and Silva explained the decision to send him on.

“The team needed strengthening after missing a penalty because things were a little lost for us,” he added.

“We had to give signal to the group that nothing is over and that we must continue to get the result we want.

“Pardo helped a lot. We turned the game and this was a sign that a player can change and overthrow a match.”

Dinamo coach Zoran Mamic felt his side deserved more from their battling performance, but admitted that his sights were now set on qualifying for the Europa League by finishing third in Group F.

He said: “I am extremely sad because my team put a lot of effort in and because we showed a good performance in both games, but at the end we were not rewarded with some points.

“My team showed they can play at a much higher level and be competitive in the Champions League group stage.

“We have the right to hope we can do something in the battle for third place in the group. Arsenal are a top team, but we can hope they will not be at 100 per cent against us and that we will have a chance.”