A spirited comeback characterised the derby between PAOK and Olympiacos, with the Thessaloniki giants fighting their way from behind to conquer the defending champions in what stands as a strong statement to the rest of the league.
The Double-headed eagle of the North overcame the Piraeus giants with a 2-1 victory at “Toumba” Stadium on Monday morning (AEDT) in the Greek Super League’s sixth round, handing them their first loss of the season in the process.
It was Olympiacos who struck first after they took the lead in the 22nd minute through Chiquinho, instilling early concern among the PAOK faithful present.
The visitors preserved their advantage all the way up to the 63rd minute when veteran playmaker Taison stepped up to bring the game level.
PAOK captain Andrija Zivkovic then steered his team in front when he converted his penalty kick in the 75th minute, a goal that proved sufficient to earn their most important win of their league campaign yet.
The game marked the first league loss for the “red-whites” in ten games, going back to last April when they also happened to lose 2-1 to PAOK in Thessaloniki during the play-offs.
AEK took advantage of Olympiacos’ defeat and seized first after having earlier mustered a remarkable performance to avert disaster against Kifisia, wherein they navigated a two-goal deficit and a red card to seal a 3-2 away win.
Enosi found themselves in perilous danger as Kifisia stormed into a two-nil lead after goals from Andres Tetteh (14′) and Pavlos Pantelidis (29′), which could have been even worse had Tetteh converted his eighth minute penalty attempt.
Youngster Dimitris Kaloskamis gave them some hope right before the break (44′), which was seemingly dashed soon after the break when Filipe Relvas was sent off in the 48th minute.
AEK somehow managed the disadvantage and even made it 2-2 on the hour mark through Luka Jovic.
Enosi eventually turned things completely around when Razvan Marin scored a 90+2nd minute penalty in what proved to be the winning goal, capping off an unbelievable comeback in a match that at one point felt completely out of their reach.
Panathinaikos procured a tight 1-0 win over Atromitos at “Leoforos” ground in a match that honoured the one-year anniversary of George Baldock’s death.
The Greens found the winner in the 48th minute after Adam Cerin met Anastasios Bakasetas’ corner and headed the ball into the goal, with the strike enough to ensure maximum points in the game honouring their fallen player.
A dominant first half helped Levadiakos make light work of Panetolikos as they earned a 5-0 home drubbing.
The “blue-greens” opened the scoring in the 14th minute via Fabricio Pedrozo’s penalty with Panagiotis Simelidis making it two soon after (31′).
The hosts’ stranglehold on the contest only strengthened when Kosta Aleksic received a second yellow in the 35th minute to put the Canaries down to ten players.
Pedrozo found Levadiakos’ third in the 39th minute before Sebastian Palacios converted a 45+4th minute penalty to make it four.
Hisham Layous struck in the 61st minute before the Canaries conceded another penalty and red card following an offence by Sotiris Kontouris (90+6′) with Stipe Juric scoring from the spot a minute later for their sixth and final goal.
OFI stunned Aris with an impressive 3-0 home win on Sunday morning in the biggest result of their campaign.
The Cretans took the lead 18 minutes in via a headed Eddie Salcedo goal, and they solidified their position just after the hour mark when Juan Neira found the back of the net (61′).
Giannis Apostolakis put the game to bed in the 80th minute with a third and last goal, securing OFI just their second league win of the season.
Panserraikos emerged victorious in the bout with fellow winless side Asteras Tripolis, downing them 2-1 at home to get their first three points this term.
The game was in the balance heading into the latter stages after goals from Vernon De Marco (21′) and Eder Gonzalez (57′) cancelled each other out, but Aleksa Maras popped up in the 88th minute to secure a much-needed win for the Serres club.
Volos fought their way to a 5-2 away triumph against Larissa to leap into sixth place.
The match was back and forth with Volos taking the lead twice through Maximiliano Comba (3′) and Juan Pablo Anor (25′) only to be cancelled out by the hosts, the first coming through Jani Atanasov’s penalty (22′) and the second from Leandro Garate (51′).
The Magnesia side eventually took control as they scored three more unanswered goals via Lazaros Lamprou (55′), Anor for his second (75′), and Joca (87′) to ensure the points.
Greek Super League Ladder (*game in hand)
1-AEK: 16
2-PAOK: 14
3-Olympiacos: 13
4-Levadiakos: 10
5-Aris: 10
6-Volos: 9
7-*Panathinaikos: 8
8-Kifisia: 7
9-*OFI: 6
10-Atromitos: 5
11-Panserraikos: 5
12-Larissa: 4
13-Panetolikos: 4
14-Asteras Tripolis: 2
