The thriller for the Greek Super League first place continues. Just a few short weeks after climbing back on top, Olympiacos have once again surrendered the top spot to PAOK after being stuck to a goalless draw by AEK at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday.

The club from Piraeus held control of the game and created the most dangerous opportunities in the encounter through midfielders Andreas Bouchalakis and Guillherme, yet both players were unable to find a goal that would make a difference for their team. The home side also had their fair share of chances, with Olympiacos goalkeeper Jose Sa putting a stop to Daniele Verde’s effort in the second half.

The game was held in the shadow of the transfer window, with both teams shrouded by rumours for some of their most important players. More specifically, Daniel Podence was left out of the Olympiacos squad with his €25 million deal to the Wolverhampton Wanderers reportedly near completion, while AEK’s Nelson Oliveira could also be transferred to the same club.

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PAOK were quick to capitalise on Olympiacos’ point loss and despite the severe difficulties they came up against in their home game with Volos, they were finally able to break the deadlock right on the hour mark thanks to a successfully converted penalty kick by captain Adelino Vieirinha to go back to the top of the ladder.

Meanwhile, Panathinaikos continued their string of victories in central Greece, beating Larissa 0-2 at the AEL FC Arena. Both goals were scored by penalty kicks, the first one by Chatzigiovannis and the second by Bouzoukis. Aris were forced to a shock loss in Agrinio at the hands of Panetolikos thanks to a Farley Rosa brace. Michael Oenning’s side seems to be going through a rough period as they’ve struggled to find their bearings after their 4-2 triumph against PAOK earlier in the month.

PAOK AND XANTHI FACING RELEGATION

Meanwhile, the Hellenic Professional Sports Commission held a meeting in response to the allegations made by members of the Olympiacos board of directors for common ownership between PAOK and Xanthi by businessman Ivan Savvidis. The commission decided after a 4-1 vote that the relation between the two clubs was in severe violation of the rules and justifies immediate dismissal of both teams from the top tier Greek League. Now the case will be taken to the disciplinary committee of the championship who will decide the fate of the two clubs.

The response to the allegations by both sides was swift, with PAOK releasing a statement denying any relation between the two clubs whatsoever, since, as they say, Ivan Savvidis is not in fact the owner of their club, rather it belongs to both his wife and daughter.

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Furthermore, New Democracy European Parliament member and former PAOK and Greek national team captain Theodoros Zagorakis also released a statement calling for the case to be annulled, dubbing it a “farce instigated by a third party” and threatened to depart from the political party, should his team not be excused.

Olympiacos made their own announcement, calling for the government to allow the law to do its job without getting in the way, while adding that Savvidis’ actions reduce PAOK’s stature as a club.

GREEK SUPER LEAGUE ROUND 21 RESULTS

AEL-Panathinaikos 0-2 (25′ pen. Chatzigiovannis, 90+1′ pen. Bouzoukis)
Xanthi-OFI 2-2 (84′, 90+1′ Faucher – 38′ pen., 87′ Figueiredo)
Panionios-Atromitos 1-0 (76′ Stavropoulos)
Panetolikos-Aris 2-0 (58′, 73′ Rosa)
AEK-Olympiacos 0-0 (87′ s.o. Simoes)
PAOK-Volos 1-0 (60′ pen. Vieirinha)
Lamia-Asteras Tripolis 1-1 (64′ Bianconi – 90+1′ Iglesias, 72′ s.o. Suarez)