UEL: Ogbonna stars in a Greek tragedy

West Ham United travelled to the Greek port of Pireaus and suffered a painful UEFA Europa League defeat at the hands of Olympiacos. The night-defining moment of the match came just before the break when captain Angelo Ogbonna inexplicably sliced a harmless-looking ball into his net to make it 2-0 to the hosts.

David Moyes' side were on a remarkable 17-match unbeaten run in European competition, a record for an English side, and that includes their Europa Conference League success last season. They have made a habit of deep European runs in recent years but their impressive run ended against the inspired Greeks.

The red-and-whites from Pireaus took the lead with an incredible left-footed strike by captain Konstantinos Fortounis on the half-hour mark to send the fervent home crowd in ecstasy.

But veteran Italian defender Ogbonna made a beginner's error when he had all the time in the world to clear the ball and instead sent it past Alphonse Areola.

Lucas Paqueta was brought on by David Moyes in the second half in an attempt to salvage a result, but the Brazilian nearly allowed the Greek side to secure the game after a giveaway. Fortunately, Areola made a save from Sotiris Alexandropoulos to prevent further damage.

Paqueta later provided a glimmer of hope for West Ham to maintain their unbeaten record at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, scoring a stunning volley from the edge of the area a few minutes before stoppage time. However, West Ham couldn't find an equalizer despite having eight additional minutes at the end of the match.

Olympiacos now has renewed hope of progressing in the group, leveling with West Ham on six points at the top, alongside SC Freiburg, who won 3-1 in their match against Serbian team TSC in Group A.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE- GROUP STAGE

Thursday

Olympiakos - West Ham 2-1 (2-0)

/Fortounis 33, Ogbona 45+1 og - Paqueta 87/

TSC Backa Topola - Freiburg 1-3 (1-0)

/Petrovic 13 - Grifo 49 pen, 59, 74/

Olympique Marseille - AEK 3-1 (1-0)

/Vitinha 27, Harit 60 pen, Veretout 69 pen - Pineda 53/

Aris Limmasol - Betis 0-1 (0-0)

/DIao 75/

Sparta Praha - Rangers 0-0

Rakow - Sporting 1-1 (0-1)

/Piasecki 79 - Coates 14/

Sturm - Atalanta 2-2 (1-2)

/Prass 13, Horvat 80 pen - Muriel 34, 45+7/

Molde - Hacken 5-1 (3-1)

/Gulbransen 6, Eikrem 27, 55, Breivik 30, Bjornbak 90+3 - Sonko 21/

22:00: (1.37) Brighton (5.60) Ajax (8.50)

22:00: (1.22) Liverpool (7.75) Toulouse (13.0)

22:00: (1.65) St.Gilloise (3.90) LASK (6.00)

22:00: (2.85) Panathinaikos (3.30) Rennes (2.70)

22:00: (1.80) Roma (3.70) Slavia Praha (5.00)

22:00: (2.45) Sheriff Tiraspol (3.45) Servette (3.05)

22:00: (1.22) Leverkusen (7.00) Qarabag (11.0)

***odds are subject to change***