The Piraeus giants managed to just escape from “Leoforos” Stadium with a point as Ayoub El Kaabi ensured them of a draw in a hard-fought affair with Panathinaikos.
The two “eternal enemies” of Hellenic football closed the Greek Super League’s fourth round on Monday morning, playing out a 1-1 stalemate.
The Greens showed plenty of fight, a positive sight given their shaky start to the league season, and they even struck first in the 48th minute after captain Anastasios Bakasetas intercepted a pass and played through Cyriel Dessers.
The marksman’s shot just snuck between keeper Konstatinos Tzolakis’ legs to settle into the bottom right corner.
Olympiacos pushed for an equaliser, creating several chances, and they finally found it in the 90+2nd minute when El Kaabi drilled an effort into the bottom right.
The result marks the reigning champions’ first dropped points of the campaign, an outcome that did not cost them severely as both PAOK and AEK also recorded draws.
AEK’s stalemate came against Larissa, who fought from behind for a 1-1 result.
The visiting Enosi side struck first in the 55th minute when club veteran Petros Mantalos scored just a minute after his entry into the contest.
The hosts managed to bring it back level soon after, thanks to Sofian Chakla’s 75th minute header, earning the recently promoted team a great point and bringing AEK’s winning start to a halt.
Levadiakos made light work of a nine-man OFI side with a dominant 4-0 drubbing at home.
The “blue-greens” broke through inside the first minute of the contest through Hisham Layous to set the tone of the match.
Any chance of the Cretans launching a serious challenge was extinguished when goalkeeper Nikos Christogeorgos and Thiago Nuss both received their marching orders.
Christogeorgos was first to be sent off after earning a straight red in the 26th minute, with Nuss expelled from the game for a second yellow just after the break in the 46th minute.
Levadiakos stamped their authority as they scored another three times via Alen Ozbolt (69′), Fabricio Pedrozo (79′) and Georgios Manthatis (83′) to deliver a strong win for their faithful.
Panetolikos held PAOK at bay as they earned 0-0 draw at Toumba Stadium on Sunday morning, stopping the Thessaloniki giants from earning their fourth straight win as a result.
The Agrinio outfit withstood an immense amount of pressure from PAOK to secure the draw, even overcoming a red card to Unai Garcia in the 82nd minute.
Aris just managed to avoid the same fate as their crosstown rivals when they scored in the 87th minute to down Kifisia 0-1 away.
The Athenian side suffered a major setback when Diamantis Chouchoumis was given a straight red in the 45+4th minute, though they still held strong in the second period.
Gabriel Misehouy eventually found a late winner to earn maximum points for the travellers.
Volos kept Asteras Tripolis’ winless start going after defeating them 2-1 at home.
The Magnesia side scored once in each half through Lazaros Lamprou (35′) and Nuno Fortuna (72′), the latter proving crucial after the Arcadians found a goal in the 82nd minute via Federico Macheda’s penalty.
The result keeps Asteras Tripolis stuck on one point earned from their first four games, while it also marks Volos’ second win in a row.
Panserraikos got off the mark following a 1-1 home draw with Atromitos.
The Peristeriotes opened the scoring in the 18th minute via Peter Michorl, with the Serres club equalising in the 69th minute through Aleksa Maras.
Greek Super League Ladder (*game in hand)
1-Olympiacos: 10
2-AEK: 10
3-PAOK: 10
4-Aris: 9
5-Levadiakos: 7
6-Volos: 6
7-Atromitos: 4
8-Kifisia: 4
9-Panetolikos: 4
10-Larissa: 3
11-*OFI: 3
12-*Panathinaikos: 2
13-Asteras Tripolis: 1
14-Panserraikos: 1
