The “Trifylli” gave their new coach a winning start with a comfortable victory over Giannina to remain a point behind PAOK while Lamia earned a shock success against Olympiacos.

Panathinaikos sealed a 2-0 triumph over the Epirutans at “Leoforos” Stadium on Thursday morning (AEDT) in the Greek Super League’s 16th round to give manager Fatih Terim a perfect start at the club.

The Greens largely controlled proceedings and looked fairly sharp, eventually taking the lead in the 25th minute via a powerful shot by striker Fotis Ioannidis into the top right corner.

The “Trifylli” doubled their advantage shortly after the break when midfielder Tonny Vilhenna released an excellent strike from distance off his weaker right foot into the bottom left corner (48′), his first goal for the club since joining this season.

With plenty of major games ahead of them, Panathinaikos will be glad to have started the year with a win.

The same cannot be said for Olympiacos, who fell 1-0 away to Lamia in what is ultimately a disastrous game for them.

The Fthiotida side found the match’s lone goal four minutes into the fixture, thanks to a finish from midfielder Vykintas Slivka.

The Piraeus giants had a golden chance to draw level in the 50th minute when they won a penalty, though playmaker Kostas Fortounis smacked the ball onto the crossbar.

The loss puts the “red-whites” six points off top spot and they will have to pick up their form immediately to avoid falling any further behind.

League leaders PAOK bagged themselves a dominant 4-0 success over OFI at “Toumba” Stadium to continue their winning form from last year.

The Thessaloniki outfit missed a chance to go ahead when striker Mbwana Samatta had his penalty saved by goalkeeper Noam Baumann (21′), though they would soon find the back of the net via a header from winger Kiril Despodov (39′).

PAOK then doubled their lead two minutes later through left back Rahman Baba (41′).

The hosts struck twice late into the second half, once from a tap-in by substitute Marcos Antonio (89′) and then through striker Brandon Thomas (90+2′) to wrap up an excellent outing for PAOK.

A brace from striker Levi Garcia guided AEK in their 3-0 win over Volos at “Agia Sophia” Stadium, helping them ascend past Olympiacos on the table in the process.

Garcia put Enosi in front with a 32nd minute strike before grabbing his second of the game in the 51st minute from the penalty spot.

Winger Nordin Amrabat ensured the three points with a third and final goal in the 74th minute, helping AEK to their first league success in three rounds.

Asteras Tripolis launched a spirited comeback to down Aris 3-2 at home, coming within a point of them on the ladder as a result.

The travellers started very well and sailed to a two-goal lead inside the first 14 minutes, thanks to a penalty goal from striker Loren Moron (8′) and a strike from winger Shapi Suleymanov (14′).

The Arcadians turned the tide with a late first half goal from Juan Bautista Miritello, with the striker converting a penalty of his own to halve the deficit (45+2′).

The hosts came out firing in the second period and Miritello would soon head the ball into the net for his second (50′) to bring it level.

Midfielder Juan Munafo completed the remarkable turnaround by finishing the ball into an empty goal (61′), giving Asteras Tripolis their fourth win from their past five league outings.

Two matches remain in this midweek round which will play on Friday morning, including Panetolikos-Panserraikos and Atromitos-Kifisia.

Greek Super League Ladder (games in hand)

1-PAOK: 38

2-Panathinaikos: 37

3-AEK: 35

4-Olympiacos: 32

5-Aris: 24

6-Asteras Tripolis: 23

7-Lamia: 20

8-Atromitos: 16 (15)

9-OFI: 15

10-Volos: 14

11-Panserraikos: 14 (15)

12-Panetolikos: 11 (15)

13-Kifisia: 11 (15)

14-PAS Giannina: 9