published: thursday 23 february 2012, 23.10cet olympiacos fc 1-0 fc rubin kazan (agg: 2-0)
rafik djebbour struck on 14 minutes to rubber-stamp the greek outfit's progress and a last-16 encounter against fc metalist kharkiv.
olympiacos fc sealed their place in the uefa europa league round of 16 at the expense of fc rubin kazan, a 1-0 second-leg win completing a 2-0 aggregate victory.
one up thanks to david fuster's effort in moscow last week, olympiacos ensured their progress thanks to rafik djebbour's 14th-minute goal at the georgios karaiskakis stadium. they will now face fc metalist kharkiv in the last 16 after the ukrainian outfit eased past fc salzburg.
both sides made a strong start in piraeus, though it was the visitors who had the first real chance on nine minutes when defender césar navas sent obafemi martins through on goal with a superb pass. the nigeria striker took one touch too many, however, allowing avraam papadopoulos to make a last-ditch tackle.
olympiacos responded by taking the lead. ariel ıbagaza was the provider, sending over a precise free-kick from the right which was headed on by ıván marcano before being flicked in by djebbour. the hosts grew in confidence thereafter and djebbour could have made it 2-0 after latching on to giannis maniatis' pass; his shot was blocked by goalkeeper sergei ryzhikov.
roy carroll, the hero in the first leg after coming off the bench to save a penalty, produced a great stop on the half-hour at the feet of nelson valdez, who also went close with a glancing header seven minutes later. carroll then made two further sprawling saves to deny martins and navas in the second half as kurban berdyev's rubin sought a way back.
the 34-year-old keeper was visibly struggling with a leg injury in the latter stages but remained as the hosts stood firm despite rubin hitting the bar late on.
