Five best games of the Super League regular season
AGONAsport looks back at the five most exciting games of the 2019/2020 Super League regular season.
Watch LIVE GREEK TV including full GREEK SPORTS coverage with Go Greek TV!
Football is returning. At one point, it seemed likely that the playoffs and playouts in Greece would never start, but the Super League organisation has now confirmed that it plans to resume play on June 6 with teams already training as normal again. In the regular season, Olympiacos pulled away in first place with a 14-point lead over PAOK, while Panionios, Panetolikos and Xanthi find themselves somewhat cut adrift at the bottom of the standings.
With the league set to return in the coming weeks, let’s take a look back at the five most exciting battles of the regular season:
Panathinaikos - AEK - 3-2 (10.11.2019, matchday 10)
A day which Panathinaikos supporters won’t forget for some time. Producing a simply stunning comeback, Panathinaikos shocked AEK in the second half of the Athenian Derby, scoring three successive goals after the Kitrinomavri had initially taken a confident 2-0 advantage through Michalis Bakakis and Nelson Oliveira. In complete control of proceedings, AEK should have scored more than just two markers, but they were made to pay for their profligacy in front of goal.
Macheda slotted past Barkas when beating the AEK defence far too easily. Not long later, Chygrynskiy was once again to blame as Juan Jose Perea tapped in, and Dimitris Kolovetsios completed the comeback in the 88th minute with a thumping header. This defeat once and for all persuaded the AEK management to search for another new head coach.
AEK - PAOK - 2-2 (29.09.2019, matchday 5)
AEK came into this game on good form under the leadership of Nikos Kostenoglou. Nevertheless, the Athenians struggled defensively against a lively PAOK side, with Dimitris Limnios ripping the hosts apart. Karol Swiderski promptly gave PAOK the lead at point blank range in the first half, but Diego Biseswar subsequently missed a golden chance to double the advantage as his penalty struck the woodwork.
In a pulsating second half, Swiderski once again hit the target moments after Dmytro Chygrynskiy had equalised, before Petros Mantalos had an equaliser unfairly disallowed for offside. AEK did eventually salvage a point, though, as Milos Deletic tapped home beyond Zivko Zivkovic. Vasilis Barkas made sure AEK held on to a draw with a handful of wonderful saves in the closing minutes.
PAOK - Panathinaikos - 2-2 (03.11.2019, matchday 9)
Panathinaikos came incredibly close to ending PAOK’s lengthy unbeaten run at the Toumba Stadium. Before the game, many expected the reigning Greek champions to comfortably claim the three points, but Panathinaikos defied the odds and were moments away from a famous win. Following an opener from Ghayas Zahid in the first half, Vieirinha equalised in the 65th minute for the home team, but Federico Macheda looked to have downed PAOK as he converted an effort when clean through in the 87th minute.
However, in the last minute of stoppage time, Vieirinha beat Sokratis Dioudis from the spot after Jose Angel Crespo had been felled in the box.
Aris - PAOK - 4-2 (04.01.2020, matchday 17)
The Dikefalos tou Vorra’s proud undefeated run came to an end against their arch rivals. In the 16th minute of play, Swiderski took advantage of an error from Julian Cuesta to shock the passionate home support, but Aris quickly recovered and went into the half-time break with a 2-1 lead as Daniel Larsson and Fran Velez found the net. Showing no mercy to PAOK, the home side ruthlessly put the game to bed in the second half, with Lindsay Rose and Lucas Sasha striking gold. Leo Matos grabbed a late consolation for PAOK, but it made little difference to the outcome.
Atromitos - Aris - 2-2 (08.12.2019, matchday 13)
The battle between Atromitos and Aris turned out to be a memorable encounter. Midway through the second half, Apostolos Vellios drew first blood for the Peristeri-based organisation with a spectacular acrobatic attempt, but Bruno Gama got Aris on the board on the brink of the break.
Atromitos looked on course for a key win as Giorgos Manousos smashed a penalty into the net with four minutes remaining. Aris, however, had other plans, netting another equalising goal in the dying moments through the technically gifted Giannis Fetfatzidis. Furthermore, Aris could have even snatched victory 60 seconds later, as Spyros Risvanis cleared a shot off the line.
