After netting a quickfire brace in Leverkusen’s first-leg victory, Patrik Schick went agonisingly close to scoring another in the opening five minutes at the BayArena, sending his glancing header just wide of Konstantinos Tzolakis’ far post.
Kasper Hjulmand’s charges soon adopted a strong defensive shape as Olympiacos grew into the half, and pushed forward in search of the game’s all-important opener.
The Greek giants enjoyed periods of possession, but crucially, they failed to trouble Janis Blaswich in the Leverkusen goal, leaving Jose Luis Mendilibar with plenty to think about at the interval.
With Mendilibar’s wise words ringing in their ears, Olympiacos registered their first shot on target within five minutes of the restart. Gelson Martins attempted to catch Blaswich off guard with a driven snapshot, only to see the goalkeeper dive down low to his right to keep the winger at bay.
The Portuguese attacker threatened again after the hour mark, seeing his low strike deflect wide just moments after Alex Grimaldo rattled the woodwork at the opposite end of the pitch.
Olympiacos’ belief in a dramatic fightback ebbed away as the minutes drifted by, and those fading hopes vanished when Lorenzo Scipioni rifled a long-range effort wide in the closing stages.
A resolute Leverkusen would have been satisfied with the lack of consistent goalmouth action throughout the contest, as they stood firm to claim the fifth clean sheet of their European campaign, setting up a last-16 tie against domestic rivals Bayern Munich or Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Alex Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen)