Saint-Étienne claimed a large and possibly decisive advantage against Olympiakos when the sides tussled in Athens on Wednesday evening, the Frenchmen running out 3-1 victory. A goal early in proceedings from Ilan gave Sainté precisely the start they were after and Geoffrey Dernis added a second on the stroke of half-time. Though Djordjevic pulled a goal back for the hosts from the penalty spot, les Verts moved further in command of the tie with a late Gomis goal.

It would be a wholly dissatisfactory evening for the hosts, who would defend miserably throughout the match. Domis and Papadopoulis were particularly disappointing on the evening while the much feared front four failed to fire entirely. Galletti, who had been tipped to terrorise Sainté was terrible while their other forward players fared little better. Meanwhile, everything clicked for Alain Perrin’s side as it so often has in Europe this term. Ilan played a lone role as a forward while the midfield was a huge presence on the game. Dernis was influential out wide while Matuidi turned in his usual sturdy showing in the centre. Meanwhile, the defence was largely sound.

Sainté were given a wake-up call as early as the third minute as a free-kick swung into their box appeared to be converted by Belluschi, however, les Verts were lucky- the linesman’s flag was waving. Despite this early scare, it would be Sainté that would enjoy the better of the match, controlling possession with maturity that belied their young side. Their endeavours would twice be rewarded in the first half. A big error from Domi would see him hit a weak clearance to Machado, who controlled the ball and pass to Ilan, who shot into the net with aplomb. Moments later it was nearly 2-0 as Dernis fizzed a shot narrowly wide. It would take the hosts 36 minutes to get a (legal) shot on Janot’s goal, however, the visiting stopper was untroubled. Just before the break, Sainté struck again. Mirallas was the chief protagonist with a strong run down the flank, skinning Domi and centring for Dernis to crack a fine shot home. With this advantage, les Verts were happier to sit back and defend for a fair portion of the second half. Dudu had a header saved by Janot but it was largely comfortable for the men in green and white. Even when Olympiakos did score, it came from a hotly disputed penalty as the initial foul appeared to have been made outside the box. Djordjevic showed nerves of steel from 12 yards to beat Janot. Just as it seemed that the Greeks had a head of steam, they failed to convert this into anything meaningful and began padding against the visiting defence rather pathetically again. Perrin’s side were in no mood for leniency and struck a third goal in stoppage time as Gomis broke away and cracked a low right-footed drive into the net.

Such an advantage will prove huge next Thursday when the return leg is due to be played. Sainté are unlikely to concede three times at home so there is a great deal of work for Olympiakos to do.