Jota Silva Hat-Trick Fires Olympiacos to 5-0 Rout of Kalamata

By Taki Panos

For 36 minutes it looked like one of those afternoons where the ball simply refuses to go in. Then Jota Silva decided he had seen enough. Olympiacos beat Kalamata 5-0 at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium on Sunday, October 25, 2026, in round eight of the Stoiximan Super League, with the Portuguese forward scoring a hat-trick, as Gazzetta and in.gr reported. Marius Mouandilmadji and Leon Bailey added the other two, both scoring for the first time in red and white.

Some context for readers just catching up. Olympiacos came into the weekend on a strong run, including a 2-0 win at Panaitolikos in the league and a 1-0 win over Sparta Prague in the Europa League on Thursday. Kalamata were no pushovers either. The Messinian side has been one of the most entertaining teams in the league, and only last week they beat OFI 4-3 with a stoppage-time winner. In.gr called them excellent this season. They did not look it on Sunday.

Imanol Alguacil made seven changes from the Sparta game, Gazzetta noted. Ortega started in goal behind Pedersen, Smajlovic, Pirola and Tiknizyan, with Freuler and Puerta in midfield, Jota and Roca out wide, Gustavo Sa in the number ten role and Armando Gonzalez up front. Kalamata coach Panagiotis Christofileas made two changes of his own. Rotating that much is a risk on a Sunday after a European night, but the coach clearly trusts his squad.

The opening half hour was all Olympiacos without the finish. Roca fired just wide in the fifth minute, and in the 16th Jota missed a big chance from around the penalty spot after a pass from Pedersen, both Gazzetta and in.gr reported. Kalamata had a couple of moments of their own, including a diagonal shot from Vargas that Ortega held. Then, in the 34th minute, Kalamata goalkeeper Vasiljevic needed a strong save to keep out a powerful effort from Puerta. The pressure was building.

It finally broke in the 37th minute. Roca swung in a cross to the back post and Jota rose to head it into the corner for 1-0, as in.gr and Ta Nea described it. In.gr noted it was his third league goal of the season. Three minutes later he did it again, and this one was even better. After a slick team move, Gustavo Sa laid the ball off to Jota outside the box, and he drilled a low shot in off the post for 2-0 at the break.

That three-minute spell was the turning point, in.gr wrote, and it is hard to disagree. Olympiacos had been knocking for more than half an hour, and once the first one went in, the whole game opened up. Kalamata had come to Piraeus with a reputation for attacking football, but they barely got out of their own half for long stretches. Gazzetta summed it up simply: Olympiacos were better than Kalamata, and much better over the whole match.

The hat-trick came almost straight after the restart. Tiknizyan made a run down the left and pulled the ball back, it rolled past Gonzalez, and Jota finished from close range with his left foot for 3-0, Gazzetta and in.gr reported. The Karaiskakis crowd was chanting his name, according to Gazzetta. Kalamata thought they had pulled one back in the 63rd minute through a Vargas header, but VAR ruled it out for an offside by Strouggis that affected the play.

Alguacil used the comfortable lead to rotate again. Chiquinho came on at halftime, Hezze and Mouandilmadji entered on the hour, and Greek veteran Kostas Fortounis got the final minutes in place of Roca, per the lineups published by in.gr and Gazzetta. Mouandilmadji missed a tap-in from close range in the 70th minute, but a few minutes later he made up for it, meeting a fine cross from Pedersen on the move to make it 4-0. It was his first goal for the club.

The last word went to Bailey. The Jamaican international came off the bench for Jota and, in the 85th minute, went on a strong solo run on the counter before finishing with a powerful shot for 5-0, in.gr reported. In.gr described it as his first goal in an Olympiacos shirt, on his return to the team. For a player the club will be counting on over a long season, that is a nice way to get going.

The numbers behind the result are impressive. According to in.gr, it was the club's seventh straight win in all competitions and fourth in a row in the league, Olympiacos have not conceded in their last six games, and the goal difference across the seven-game run is 13-1. In.gr added that it was the first time Olympiacos scored five in a league match since a 5-0 win over Panserraikos on September 13, 2025. Gazzetta called it the club's biggest league win of the season.

The table looks a lot friendlier, at least for a few hours. With 19 points, Olympiacos moved to the top, one ahead of Panathinaikos and two ahead of AEK, in.gr reported, although both rivals have a game in hand. Panathinaikos were due to play at Volos later on Sunday, and AEK still have a postponed match against Atromitos after their 5-0 win over Panaitolikos on Saturday. The title race is tight at the top. Nobody is running away with it yet.

My take: this was the kind of performance Olympiacos fans have been waiting for. The Reds have been winning, but often by one goal, and the attack had not always matched the defense. On Sunday they finally turned pressure into goals, and two new arrivals got off the mark. The early wastefulness is worth noting, because better teams than Kalamata will punish it. But a side that keeps clean sheets and starts scoring freely is a dangerous combination in October.

Next up, Olympiacos visit Kifisia on Saturday, October 31, in round nine, per athletic.gr, before a Europa League trip to Rennes on November 5. Kalamata, who stay on 10 points, host Iraklis on Monday, November 2. If you want the bigger picture of the Piraeus club, our history of Olympiacos FC is a good place to start, and fans planning a trip to the south can browse our things to do in Kalamata. Keep an eye on our Greek Sports section for every result. Three for Jota. Five for the Reds.

Sources: Gazzetta, in.gr, Ta Nea, athletic.gr.

Image: Olympiacos crest, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0).