Greek champions Olympiacos FC picked up their first Champions League win of the season with a second half goal from Gelson Martins, downing home side Kairat Almaty 0-1 amid subzero temperatures at the impressive Astana Arena in the same-name city.
This victory ended a 10-match winless streak in Europe’s top club competition for the popular Piraeus side.
Gelson Martins’ decisive goal in the 73rd minute, a swift kick slipping past the keeper’s “weak side”, was enough to secure victory for the Reds.
Olympiacos deserved more than just one goal, as they its players put up 20 shots. The match also witnessed an end to Olympiacos’ “dry spell” in terms of an away victory in the Champions League, with the last away victory coming in October 2015 against Dinamo Zagreb, 1-0 in Croatia. Indicative of Olympiacos’ dominating appearance on the pitch was the fact that Kairat’s goalkeeper, Temirlan Anarbekov, was voted as the match MVP.
Olympiacos needs a win in their final two games – at home against Bayer Leverkusen on Jan. 20 and away at Ajax in Amsterdam on Jan. 28 – to reach the 11-point mark in the UEFA Champions League – League Stage.
Highlights of the game are here:
UEFA Champions League – Kairat v Olympiacos – Astana Arena, Astana, Kazakhstan – December 9, 2025 Olympiacos fans in the stands before the match REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev
UEFA Champions League – Kairat v Olympiacos – Astana Arena, Astana, Kazakhstan – December 9, 2025 Olympiacos’ Gelson Martins in action with Kairat’s Olzhas Baybek. Gelson scored the only goal of the game to give Olympiacos the victory. REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev
Last season, Belgium’s Club Brugge picked 11 points to finish 24th in the league phase and take the last play-off spot leading to the next round.
