Mexican striker Armando González scores for Olympiacos after five games benched
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The gist
Olympiacos forward Armando González scored the opener against Sparta Prague after five straight matches out of the eleven.
The goal tests coach Imanol Alguacil's choice to bench the 23-year-old Mexican.
Background
Armando 'Hormiga' González is a 23-year-old Mexican forward and former Chivas Guadalajara striker who joined Greek club Olympiacos as a new signing. Since Basque head coach Imanol Alguacil arrived, González has slipped to third on the center-forward depth chart, behind Chad international Marius Mouandilmadji and Ukrainian striker Roman Yaremchuk, and has been limited to bit-part appearances. His goal against Jagiellonia Bialystok made him Olympiacos' goalscoring opener in European competition this season, but that match remained his last start until the Sparta Prague fixture.
How it unfolded
- Oct 17, 2026Olympiacos beat Panetolikos 2-0 on matchday seven of the Stoiximan Super League; González came on in the 80th minute with the result settled.
- Oct 21, 2026Imanol Alguacil named his starting eleven for the Europa League Matchday 3 fixture against Sparta Praha in Piraeus; Roman Yaremchuk started and González was benched for the fifth straight match.
- Oct 22, 2026González scored the opening goal in the Europa League opening-phase match between Olympiacos and Sparta Prague in Piraeus, Greece.
Who’s saying what
- Caution
- All Fútbol MX called González's situation at Olympiacos under the new head coach unacceptable and said Imanol Alguacil is treating the Mexican unfairly.
- Analysts
- Roundtable Sports said the omission was initially thought to be a fatigue issue after the international break but now seems more of a technical problem, and that fans might see it as unfair since the case for Yaremchuk as undisputed starter is weak.
- Analysts
- Roundtable Sports reported no altercations or fitness issues on González's part and said he has trained professionally since arriving without complaints.
Still unverified
Whether González's omission from the starting line-up was a fatigue issue or a technical decision is presented as speculation by Roundtable Sports.