Olympiakos were left frustrated on Wednesday night after being held to a goalless draw at home by 10-man Pafos in their Champions League opener.
The visitors’ task became more daunting in the 26th minute when striker Bruno received his marching orders for a second bookable offence following a foul on Lorenzo Pirola.
From that point, Pafos were forced to dig in and defend with discipline.
Despite enjoying the numerical advantage, Olympiakos found clear chances hard to convert. Ayoub El Kaabi came closest shortly after the restart, but his header drifted narrowly off target.
The hosts piled on the pressure, yet Pafos’ back line repeatedly threw themselves in the way of shots to keep the score level.
Tension rose midway through the second half when Mehdi Taremi was initially shown a red card for a challenge on Jaja during a Pafos counterattack.
However, VAR intervened, downgrading the punishment to a yellow and sparing Olympiakos from being reduced to 10 men.
In the closing stages, the Greek side pushed hard for a breakthrough. Christos Mouzakitis and Taremi both had late opportunities, but Pafos stood resilient until the final whistle, earning a heroic point and leaving Olympiakos to rue their missed chances.
