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Olympiacos Syndesmos Filathlon Pireos were founded in 1925 with the merger of Piraikos Podosfairikos Omilos and the Piraeus Fans Club. It took them six years to win their first title but since then they have become unsurpassed in Greece. They have won more league titles (forty one) than all the other clubs in Greece put together (thirty seven), twenty six Greek Cups, sixteen doubles and four Greek super cups, all records. They won six consecutive league titles between 1954 and 1959 and seven between 1997 and 2003. They won this year’s, their fourth in a row, last weekend with five games to spare. Their darkest period was in the late eighties and early nineties when their owner George Koskotas put them in huge debt and they had to endure nine seasons without a title, once sinking to eighth place, poor dears! They give us all hope; the owner was convicted of embezzlement.

Despite this record, Olympiacos were bidding on Wednesday to reach only their second Champions League quarter final. They had lost on all eleven previous visits to England including their two to Old Trafford. In October 2001 we won three-nil despite Ruud van Nistelrooy missing a penalty. Almost exactly a year later, playing for some reason in blue shirts, we went one better and Seba Verón, the inspiration in 2001, scored twice, one a deflection but the other a sublime chip after a one-two with David Beckham. These were group matches, however, and we were a better side then. On Wednesday we had left ourselves in need of that muse of fire that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention. All season we had managed just one home win by a three goal margin, against Norwich in the Mickey Mouse Cup. There had been plenty of brave talk from the dressing room but comes the point when silken dalliance in the wardrobe lies, for now sits expectation in the air.

David Moyes selected a team blessed with experience which played from the start as if trying to make amends for everything. He picked some he has overlooked lately; Ryan Giggs gave a master class and Danny Welbeck showed how fast and tricky he can be so long as you do not ask him to be cool in front of goal. Crucially he picked those who could pass, and he fooled the opposition by tearing up the jigsaw and playing men in their best positions.

The Greeks had worked out that we were a soft touch at home and their boldness made it an entertaining match, a glorious antidote for those dour group matches of which we will be so envious next season. They ameliorated their risk by fouling their way out of trouble. Indeed, the early match threatened to tip dramatically over the watershed which divides thrill from mayhem. Michael Carrick’s early pass reminded us of a talent too little in evidence since his return from surgery but Welbeck was taken down by Kostas Manolas. Antonio Valencia collected a spectacular Henry Cooper shiner from his clash with Joel Campbell. Alejandro Domínguez then ruthlessly took out the one-eyed Valencia, Hernán Pérez rolled around to get Michael Carrick booked.

It also threw up chances at either end. José Holebas’ cross had to be cleared from a dangerous place by Phil Jones who should be awarded a gallantry medal for re-appearing in the firing line so soon after his torrid experience of Sunday. Robin van Persie was beaten by Manolas to Wayne Rooney’s cross, Pérez put Campbell’s cut-back over the bar from six yards. Giggs delivered a deep cross for Rooney to meet in elegant flight and goalkeeper Roberto did wonderfully well to touch the header on to the base of the post. Evra intercepted Campbell’s pass to Pérez, Rafael denied Campbell’s breakaway. Giggs’ next big pass was from just inside his own half to van Persie, who was shoved to the ground by Holebas. Van Persie won the gamesmanship contest with Roberto, the spitting contest and finally the real one, with a left foot penalty that the goalkeeper could not quite keep out; 25 minutes 1-0.

The thrills continued. Domínguez’ cross had to be cleared off the line by Carrick. From a van Persie corner Evra’s back header would have looped into the top corner but for Roberto’s fingertips. When Giggs and Welbeck tried to work it up the left Pérez left Patrice Evra behind him and ran all the way to set up David Füster for a header that looked a certain equaliser; David de Gea stuck out a leg and Domínguez tucked the rebound inside the near post and wheeled away with his arms in the air only for de Gea to get down and keep that out too. The forty five minutes was up when Carrick gave Giggs the ball in the middle of the field to flight a delicious pass to Rooney, who was lucky when his first touch came back off Iván Marcano but steered his second chance across the goal for van Persie to stroke smoothly in and put us level on aggregate; 45+1 minutes 2-0.

The mood seemed subdued at the start of the second half until Evra lost the ball to Pérez. Rooney stepped in and won it back with a determination that woke up the crowd if not the team; when Leandro Salino crossed nobody picked up Pérez but he fluffed his chance. Rooney’s effort was inspirational and he got the ball on the edge of our area, jinked past a couple of men, ran the length of the field with four in his wake and delivered on the edge of their area to Welbeck, who was inevitably fouled by Manolas. Van Persie curled the free kick in from twenty five yards. Nobody in the wall jumped, Roberto stood rooted as it passed him a short dive away and small part of sporting history was in the making; 51 minutes 3-0.

There was nearly half the match left but we spent it knocking years off the life expectancy of United fans everywhere. The Greeks must have been surprised, after the first leg, to be up against a team playing with such determination. Rio Ferdinand stood up to block a scorcher from Delvin N’Dinga with his head and staggered around seeing stars. Jones came to the rescue as N’Dinga was going through. De Gea smothered Holebas’ drive and then showed amazing reflexes to keep out Evra’s deflection to Domínguez’ fierce narrow angle effort. The ball fell to Joel Campbell who demonstrated that his first leg goal was a fluke. A hearty chorus of Stand up for the Champions inspired brief respite but van Persie was flagged offside, a relief for Welbeck who contrived to miss from about three feet. Ashley Young and Darren Fletcher were on by the time we enjoyed another short flurry, but despite Rooney’s exciting run and Fletcher’s intelligent pass we could not achieve a margin of safety and soon we were manning the barricades again, Jones’ diving header saved us from Maniatis’ cross. Van Persie ended his evening on a stretcher after a tackle from Manolas and Marouane Fellaini came on to play keep-ball at the corner flag for several minutes, several times. It was good to see he had been found a useful role.

Seven times we have brought a two goal deficit back to Old Trafford for the return leg of a European tie. In 1957 against Athletic club of Bilbao late goals by Billy Whelan and Johnny Berry saw us through three-nil after Viollet had scored and had two good efforts disallowed. In 1963 we did it in the Cup Winners’ cup against Tottenham Hotspur, who had to play over eighty minutes with ten men after Dave Mackay’s leg was broken with a crack you could hear all around the ground. That time two late Bobby Charlton thunderbolts gave us a four-one win. In the 1966 European Cup semi-final we could only manage one-nil against Partizan Belgrade. The 1969 semi-final was the greatest atmosphere I have experienced at a football match. We could only beat AC Milan one-nil through a Bobby Charlton blinder followed minutes later by a Denis Law goal infamously adjudged not to have crossed the line. The 1984 Cup Winners’ Cup quarter final against Barcelona was not a quiet night either, an inspirational Bryan Robson scoring either side of half time and enabling Frank Stapleton to make it three-nil. Against Real Madrid in 2003 the Brazilian Ronaldo scored a spectacular hat trick to a standing ovation and we played catch-up all night to go out with a four-three win.

Athletic Club were Spanish double champions, Tottenham the holders of the trophy, Milan the World Champions, Barcelona had Diego Maradona. Measured against these how could the chronicle of Wednesday night be as rich as is the bottom of the sea with sumless treasure? Yet against the expectations of many we got through. The fate that awaits can be set aside momentarily. Olympiacos went home to the Elysian Fields and the gates of the underworld; we could sleep in Elysium all night.

Paul Andrew James