Beşiktaş have experienced too many European nights on which they squandered one, two, even three-goal leads. This was not one of them.
Leading 2-1 when opening goalscorer Vincent Aboubakar was dismissed on 39 minutes, they may have feared that Olympiacos 2016/17 would become the latest surrender for the list. Older fans still remember past capitulations against Steagul Roşu Brasov (1974/75 UEFA Cup) and Vålerenga (1998/99 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup), with the younger ones struggling to shake the memories of more recent collapses against Club Brugge (2014/15 UEFA Europa League) and Sporting CP (2015/16 UEFA Europa League).