Pardo scores double for Olympiakos

Athens - Colombian striker Felipe Pardo came off the bench to score twice as Olympiakos Piraeus came from a goal down to defeat 10-man Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 on Wednesday and take a huge step towards qualifying for the knockout stages.

An upset had looked on the cards when Armin Hodzic put Dinamo ahead with a powerful first-half header while Olympiakos struggled to respond, with Kostas Fortounis missing a penalty just after half-time.

But the introduction of substitute Pardo in place of Hernani just after the hour mark proved a masterstroke by Olympiakos boss Marco Silva.

The stocky striker scored with his first touch of the ball a minute after coming on to level the scores.

After Dinamo's Josip Ivaric was dismissed for collecting a second yellow card in the 79th minute, Pardo latched on to Fortounis' superb lobbed pass to drill home the winner which sparked jubilant celebrations among the home fans.

It was the first time Olympiakos have won three matches in succession in the competition, leaving them in the second qualifying spot in Group F behind leaders Bayern Munich with both on nine points. Dinamo and Arsenal each have three points.