Olympiacos beat PAOK to edge closer to title
 

SUPER LEAGUE PLAYOFFS - MATCHDAY 1

Olympiacos took an important step to wrestling the title from PAOK after claiming a vital 1-0 victory over their title rivals from Thessaloniki in Sunday’s Super League playoffs derby clash at the Toumba Stadium.

Watch LIVE GREEK TV including full GREEK SPORTS coverage with Go Greek TV!

Youssef El Arabi pounced to score from a Mathieu Valbuena cross to open the scoring for a lively Olympiacos side, who were well on top in the first-half. The second half was a non-event as a struggling PAOK struggled to create chances and pose a threat.

Both sets of players looked to be suffering from fatigue in the second 45 minutes, but the performance from Abel Ferreira’s team on home turf will have the Portuguese coach scratching his head.

The result means Olympiacos now are a massive 17 points ahead and virtually assured of sealing their first Super League title in three years.

THE MATCH

Before this meeting, over 80 days have passed since either club played any competitive football due to the enforced Covid-19 break. 

And due to the fan-ban from the Greek government, an empty Toumba did not feature the usual incendiary atmosphere that we have become accustomed to. On paper and on the pitch, Olympiacos cae into this match as the more favored team, and they knew that a win would cement the championship in their trophy cabinet.

Meanwhile for PAOK, the hosts needed a win to believe that they may have a chance to turn the tide in the title race (especially if their seven-point deduction is eventually overturned).

The match started off at a surprisingly quick pace, with the visitors looking spritely and putting the ball in the back of the net after just X minutes when El Arabi poked home after PAOK goalkeeper Alexandros Paschalakis had fumbled Ruben Semedo’s header from a right-wing cross.

However, a lengthy VAR review showed that El Arabi was in an offside position when Semedo headed for goal, and the referee correctly chalked the ‘goal’ off.

PAOK went down the other end and forced Jose Sa to make a save at the second attempt from Leo Matos, and it seemed that a lively derby clash was in store despite the lack of atmosphere.

Olympiacos were clearly the side more in the mood, though, and they got themselves in front after 23 minutes. The chance came about from a combination of defensive error and determination from Valbuena.

Andre Vieirinha was the player to make an uncharacteristic error as his stray pass was easily cut out by Valbuena. The Frenchman accelerated forward and crossed perfectly for El Arabi to arrive and smash the ball past a helpless Paschalakis.

Six minutes later Olympiacos almost made it 2-0 when another quick counter-attack ended with Giorgos Masouras getting in a low shot which was brilliantly parried away by Paschalakis.

PAOK struggled to create chances as the half drew to a close, only really threatening the visitors with a couple of corners but to no avail.

The home side needed to lift their game in the second half after being largely outplayed and outfought by their visitors from Piraeus, but the urgency, guile and desire that was required was conspicuous by its absence among the PAOK players.

In fact even Olympiacos were a shade of the side that dominated the opening 45 minutes for long spells in the second period, with perhaps fatigue and a lack of match fitness setting in among both sets of players.

The result was a scrappy second half which was instantly forgettable. Ferreira brought on Karol Swiderski and Dimitris Pelkas in the second half, but neither player could spark a fightback to grab an unlikely equaliser.

Swiderski had the best chance, but the Polish frontman skewed his late volley narrowly over the crossbar, with claims for a corner kick waved away by the referee, who then blew the final whistle.

STARTING LINEUPS

PAOK: 31 Paschalakis, 3 Matos, 5 Varela, 6 Mihaj, 20 Vieirinha, 18 Limnios, 27 Misic, 8 Mauricio, 7 El Kaddouri, 21 Biseswar, 47 Akpom

Olympiacos: 1 Sa, 3 Semedo, 4 Camara, 5 Bouhalakis, 8 Guilherme, 11 El-arabi, 14 Elabdellaoui, 19 Masouras, 21 Tsimikas, 24 Ba, 28 Valbuena

HIGHLIGHTS

by Graham Wood

Image Source: sport-fm.gr

Thank you for visiting AGONAsport.com, the only English based website for Greek sports fans across the world! Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, and Twitter for all the latest news in Greek Sports!