PAO makes strong new year showing as Olympiacos held to a shock draw

Panathinaikos have begun 2022 in style as they managed a victory over Aris in the Hellenic Championship’s first matchday of the year which was marked by postponements due to COVID-19 cases.

The Greens recorded their third consecutive league win, defeating the Thessaloniki side 2-0 in the 16th round of the Super League to maintain their position in fourth.

The home side struck first through winger Sebastian Palacios (14’) who needed two attempts to get it into the net before fellow winger Aitor Cantalapiedra secured the result in the 83rd minute.

Bottom place Apollon Smyrnis earned a shock 0-0 draw over league leaders Olympiacos thanks largely to a stellar performance from goalkeeper Davino Verhulst.

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AEK capitalised on this with a 0-2 success over Lamia, narrowing the gap to nine points, with wingers Levi Garcia (29’) and Nordin Amrabat (83’) scoring for the visitors.

Asteras Tripolis gave OFI just their third loss this season with a 1-0 home result. Playmaker Adrien Riera’s composed finish in the 38th was enough to earn his side all three points.

Giannina bounced back from their last two losses with a much-needed 1-0 victory over Ionikos with striker Juan Jose Perea’s tap-in (51’) proving the winner for the “Ajax” of Epirus.

The scheduled matches between Atromitos-Volos and PAOK-Panetolikos were postponed to a later date due to issues with COVID-19.