A late goal has helped PAOK record a draw against rivals AEK to maintain their position as league leaders, sitting just one point in front of their nearest challengers in Panathinaikos.
The Thessaloniki giants played out a tense 1-1 stalemate against Enosi at “Toumba” Stadium on Monday morning (AEDT) in the Greek Super League’s 22nd round.
AEK went ahead very early into the second period after winger Niclas Eliasson guided the ball in from close range (47′), putting his side in good stead for an important victory in the Double-headed eagles derby.
PAOK managed to cancel out Eliasson’s strike through a header by defender Tomasz Kedziora, directing the ball in from teammate Taison’s free kick in the 89th minute.
Panathinaikos pounced on the dropped points and gained ground in the title race when they defeated Panserraikos 0-3 away.
The Greens opened the scoring just nine minutes in through a corner header by winger Benjamin Verbic (9′) and his fellow wide player, Sebastian Palacios, made it two soon after with a grounded effort into the bottom left (31′).
Substitute striker Alexander Jeremejeff wrapped up the game with a final goal in the 90+2nd minute, with the Swede unintentionally getting in the way of Daniel Mancini’s shot and deflecting the ball into the net.
Lamia has given their play-offs ambitions a major boost with a 2-1 home victory over Asteras Tripolis.
The Arcadians took the lead in the 11th minute via winger Nikolaos Kaltas, though their night became more difficult when right back Ruben Garcia was sent for a second yellow card (37′).
Lamia forward Carlitos equalised for his side in the 68th minute before Asteras Tripolis earned a penalty.
Striker Juan Bautista Miritello’s effort was kept out by goalkeeper Alexei Koselev (78′) and the Fthiotida side would make their opponents pay for their miss by scoring their own penalty just a few minutes later, courtesy of Carlitos (81′).
Volos managed to hold onto a 0-0 away draw against Kifisia, holding out despite going down to ten men in the first half due to centre half Kyriakos Aslanidis’ second yellow send-off (45′).
Olympiacos smashed OFI 4-0 at “Georgios Karaiskakis” ground on Sunday morning to make up for last week’s loss to Panathinaikos.
The Piraeus giants struck twice inside the first ten minutes, first via winger Georgios Masouras (6′) and then through striker Ayoub El Kaabi (9′).
Forward Daniel Podence gave the hosts their third (34′) and their captain, Kostas Fortounis, put the game to bed with a final goal in the 58th minute.
Aris disappointingly drew 0-0 against last-placed Giannina to see their lead over Lamia fall to only two points.
A ten-men Panetolikos outfit managed to record a remarkable 1-0 triumph over Atromitos to give a huge boost to their survival chances.
The Agrinio side scored in the 24th minute through their captain and chief striker, Nikos Karelis, though their chances of winning took a huge hit just six minutes later when centre back Marios Oikonomou was given a straight red card for a bad tackle.
Despite that, Panetolikos hung onto their advantage and earned a crucial win that puts them in great spirits heading into the first leg of their Greek Cup semi-finals tie with Aris.
Greek Super League Ladder
1-PAOK: 51
2-Panathinaikos: 50
3-AEK: 49
4-Olympiacos: 44
5-Aris: 35
6-Lamia: 33
7-Asteras Tripolis: 29
8-Panserraikos: 23
9-Atromitos: 23
10-OFI: 20
11-Panetolikos: 18
12-Volos: 17
13-Kifisia: 16
14-PAS Giannina: 13
