It all comes down to the battle between Panathinaikos and AEK after the two clubs practically extinguished both PAOK’s and Olympiacos’ title chances with huge wins at ‘Toumba’ and ‘Karaiskakis’ respectively.
Enosi downed the Piraeus giants 1-3 at their home on Monday morning (AEST) in the fifth round of the Greek Super League’s play-offs, with things turning ugly at full time as spectators stormed the pitch in anger.
AEK opened the scoring early through midfielder Mijat Gacinovic, who played a one-two with teammate Steven Zuber before bouncing his shot into the bottom right (7′), a lead they carried into half time.
Olympiacos came out of the break renewed and soon drew level after causing a mistake at the back with a team press, allowing winger Giorgos Masouras to cross the ball in for teammate Cedric Bakambu to head home (53′).
Enosi forward Levi Garcia restored his side’s lead from the spot, smashing the ball into the top right corner, and playmaker Petros Mantalos guaranteed the points with a lovely dribble into the box and expert chip over goalkeeper Alexandros Paschalakis from a tight angle (90+1′).
Panathinaikos v PAOK
Panathinaikos held on for a tight 1-2 triumph against PAOK at “Toumba” Stadium in a nail-biting affair that sees the travellers earn their second win at the ground this season.
The Greens gained the advantage late into the first half, thanks to a swift counter-attack which saw Bernard release a powerful strike past goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski (38′).
The second period turned into a scrappy affair with both teams scrambling back and forth.
The Double-headed eagle of the North gained momentum and eventually broke through their opponents’ defences, with midfielder Douglas Augusto finishing the ball into the top right (85′).
The “Trifylli” quickly recovered and managed to squeeze back in front after striker Fotis Ioannidis won a penalty, which he then hit just well enough to evade a diving Kotarski (90+1′).
A series of stoppages and outbursts from players led to over fifteen minutes of injury time being played, during which PAOK thought they won a spot-kick of their own until VAR found an offside in the build-up to the foul (90+9′).
Panathinaikos stood firm to hang on for a vital victory in the context of their title push.
Aris vs Volos
Aris sealed a huge 0-3 away success against Volos to greatly increase their odds of a European qualifying spot.
The Thessaloniki club went in front in the 28th minute through midfielder Vladimir Darida’s long shot into the left side of the net.
The “yellow-blacks” then doubled their lead via striker Aboubakar Kamara, who was sent through one-on-one with the goalkeeper before calmly depositing the ball into the bottom left with the outside of his boot (77′).
Kamara earned his second minutes later from the penalty spot as he placed it in the top left (80′), with Aris moving four points clear of Volos in fifth as a result.
Lamia vs Atromitos
Lamia pulled off a massive 1-0 win over Atromitos at “Athanasios Diakos” ground on Sunday morning in the fourth round of the play-outs, leaping out of the relegation spots.
The Fthiotida side earned their winner in the 54th minute after Nikos Vergos met the ball inside the box, sliding to guide it into the net as he earned the hosts an invaluable three points to aid their chances of survival.
Ionikos vs Levadiakos
A late equaliser helped Ionikos secure a hard-fought 2-2 away draw with fellow relegation rivals Levadiakos, with the result making the visitors drop in second last.
The Nikaia outfit struck first with a phenomenal long-range effort from midfielder Bandiougou Fadiga into the top right (26′) before Alexander Jeremejeff drew level for the home side with a finish into the bottom left (50′).
Midfielder Alfredo Mejia gave Levadiakos the lead six minutes later with a curling shot into the bottom right from just inside the box, but Ionikos centre half Dmytro Chygrynskiy popped with a late header from a corner (89′, awarded after a VAR check confirmed it was onside) to rescue a point for his club.
Giannina vs Panetolikos
A spectacular pair of goals from Giorgos Pamlidis helped Giannina snap their 12-match winless streak with a 3-2 comeback win at home against Panetolikos, giving their survival chances a huge boost.
The Epirutans went ahead after Pamlidis hit the ball sweetly into the bottom left from distance (14′), though the Agrinio side cancelled it out ten minutes later with a well-directed long shot from winger Juanpi Anor into the same corner.
Striker Nikos Vergos put the Canaries in front after lunging forward and glancing the ball into the the net following a free kick delivery (56′).
Pamlidis responded swiftly with another brilliant strike from just inside the box into the left side of the goal (62′), much to teammate Rodrigo Erramuspe’s joy as this came in the immediate aftermath of his penalty being saved by goalkeeper Ioannis Anestis.
Erramuspe would get a second chance from the spot, this time burying it successfully into the top right instead of the bottom left (78′) to help his team to their first victory since January.
OFI vs Asteras Tripolis
OFI failed to seize seventh place from Atromitos after recording a 1-1 home stalemate with Asteras Tripolis.
The Cretans pulled ahead through winger Harold Mosquera, who showed composure before slotting the ball into the bottom left (25′) before midfielder Julian Bartolo bagged an easy tap-in for the Arcadians (40′), with neither side able to grab a winner.
Greek Super League Ladder
Championship Group
1-Panathinaikos: 72
2-AEK: 72
3-Olympiacos: 63
4-PAOK: 60
5-Aris: 44
6-Volos: 40
Relegation Group
1-Atromitos: 34
2-OFI: 34
3-Panetolikos: 29
4-Asteras Tripolis: 29
5-Giannina: 27
6-Lamia: 26
7-Ionikos: 25
8-Levadiakos: 23
