Olympiacos edge out PAOK at the Toumba
 

SUPER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 25

Olympiacos staged a smash and grab 1-0 derby victory over reigning champions PAOK on Sunday amid a highly-charged atmosphere in front of a sold-out Toumba Stadium in Thessaloniki.

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Olympiacos took the lead four minutes into the second half of a closely-contested match when Dimitris Giannoulis inadvertently directed Lazar Randelovic’s cross past his own goalkeeper Alexandros Paschalakis following a great run and shot by Kostas Tsimikas.

Fernando Varela scored from close-range just three minutes later but the ‘goal’ was correctly ruled out as the defender was in an offside position when Vieirinha’s free-kick was swung into the box.

Abel Ferreira’s PAOK battled manfully to try and get an equaliser, but a combination of the Erythrolefki’s well-organised defence and a disjointed display from the home side’s midfield and attack thwarted the Dikefalos tou Vorra.

The result means Olympiacos extended their lead over PAOK at the top of the table to five points with one match of the regular season to go before the Playoffs then kick-off.

THE MATCH

There was incredible hype and build-up ahead of the match between Greek football’s current top two rivals, with PAOK announcing on Wednesday that the match was sold out in record time with 22,000 tickets purchased by PAOK fans.

Extra security measures were put in place to try and ensure that there would be no incidents in what was the first of five meetings between the two clubs over the next two months, with the pair also drawn to face off in the Greek Cup semi-finals as well as two times in the playoffs.

While PAOK had a whole week to prepare and focus on the game, Olympiacos were beaten 1-0 in mid-week by Arsenal in the Europa League Round of 32 first leg match in Athens, and all eyes were on who would have the desire, passion and endurance.

The match did not begin with the expected frantic pace. In contrast, the tempo was slow and measured as both sides attempted to size each other up in the early stages. Both sets of players looked nervous, and that did not make for a quality spectacle as passes went astray while niggly fouls interrupted the flow of the game.

It took 18 minutes for the first clear sight of goal to come, and when it did Dmitris Pelkas’ curling shot unfortunately clipped the head of teammate Karol Swiderski and the ball looped narrowly over the crossbar.

Olympiacos were not posing much of a forward threat to PAOK’s backline either, with only a long-range strike from Kostas Tsimikas which sailed wide their only notable effort in the first 25 minutes.

Josip Misic, who had been quiet for most of the half, suddenly sprang into life with a lung-bursting run from midfield in the 35th minute. The Croatian played a one-two with Swiderski and was shaping up to pull the trigger, but just as he did, Ruben Semedo slid in with a last-ditch tackle to send the ball spinning out for a corner.

Despite all PAOK’s efforts, it was Olympiacos who then came closest to scoring in the 42nd minute when Youssef El-Arabi hit the crossbar with a close-range volley from a brilliant cross by Mathieu Valbuena, with PAOK goalkeeper Alexandros Paschalakis beaten. 

The visitors then had a purple patch up until the half-time break, winning a series of corners to put the home defence under pressure. However, the PAOK backline held firm and the teams went down the tunnel 0-0 at half-time.

The second half got off to the worst possible start for the home fans as PAOK found themselves behind just four minutes after the restart.

The attack, which brought the goal, started from inside the Olympiacos half when Tsimikas intercepted possession and skipped past three challenges before unleashing a powerful left-footed shot, which Paschalakis parried to his left. Randelovic pulled the ball back across goal and it bounced off the unfortunate Giannoulis’ knee and into the net.

PAOK then thought they had got themselves level at 1-1 when Varela prodded the ball home following a Vieirinha free-kick from the right flank, but the goal was ruled out following a VAR review for an offside on Varela.

PAOK players protested the decision but replays suggested it was a correct call by the officials and PAOK had to soldier on and try to get an equaliser.

Ferreira introduced Chuba Akpom for Pelkas with 20 minutes left, and the English striker won a free-kick in a dangerous position with 16 minutes left on the edge of the penalty area. Vieirinha stepped up to take it, but the Portuguese curled his effort harmlessly over Jose Sa’s crossbar.

PAOK then wasted a golden chance to make it 1-1 in the 77th minute when Diego Bisewar chipped a superb pass for substitute Omar El Kaddouri, who had made a great run into the box. However the Moroccan, who was arguably a little rusty having just come on, fluffed his shot with only Jose Sa to beat.

PAOK had legitimate claims for a penalty waved away by referee Tobias Stieler on 82 minutes when Tsimikas seemed to shove Dimitris Limnios off the ball with his arm and elbow rather than use his shoulder.

As the clock began to tick down, PAOK’s efforts to get an equaliser became more desperate, with the home team throwing bodies forward in numbers.

Vieirinha had another chance from a free-kick on the edge of the box, but his efforts was smashed straight into the wall and Olympiacos escaped from the Toumba with a precious three-point haul.

STARTING LINEUPS

Paok: 31 Paschalakis (Gk), 20 Vieirinha, 4 Ingason, 5 Varela, 23 Giannoulis, 18 Limnios, 8 Mauricio, 27 Misic, 21 Biseswar, 10 Pelkas, 9 Swiderski

Olympiacos: 1 Sa Jose (Gk), 3 Semedo, 4 Camara, 5 Bouhalakis, 8 Guilherme, 11 El-arabi, 14 Elabdellaoui, 21 Tsimikas, 24 Ba, 28 Valbuena, 97 Randelovic

HIGHLIGHTS

by Graham Wood

Image Source: sportfm.gr

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