Olympiacos held by 10-man AEK in derby draw
SUPER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 21
AEK and Olympiacos shared the spoils of a goalless derby draw on Sunday as the two teams failed to sparkle in what was a disappointing Matchday 21 clash at the Olympic Stadium in Athens.
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Olympiacos just about shaded the match in terms of possession and chances, and Pedro Martins’ side came closest to scoring on the hour mark when Brazilian midfielder Guilherme hit the crossbar from close-range following a free-kick from Frenchman Mathieu Valbuena.
AEK were disappointing in terms of ambition and quality. Massimo Carrera’s men were full of graft and good intent, but lacked ideas and the creativity to get in behind the well-drilled Olympiacos defenders.
AEK had to see out of the final two minutes of normal time and five minutes of injury time with 10 players after Andre Simoes was sent off for a second bookable offence following a foul on Valbuena. The match also saw the welcome return to action (in the league) of Olympiacos’ Greece international midfielder Kostas Fortounis following a long injury absence.
The result means that league leaders Olympiacos are just two points clear of second-placed PAOK, who can move above them into top spot if they beat Volos at the Toumba in Thessaloniki on Monday.
THE MATCH
The clash at the OAKA, which was easily the pick of the weekend’s fixtures, promised to be an intriguing one - at least on paper. Both sides came into the game in good form. AEK were disappointing in a derby loss to PAOK a fortnight back but since then their performances have picked up, especially the midweek 3-1 win at Volos.
Sunday’s match appeared to be coming at the right time for the Kitrinomavri, but still they faced a daunting prospect against Olympiacos, who were undefeated this season and had recorded seven wins in their last eight matches.
A frenetic start to the match ensued, with both sides eager to chase down every ball and fight for possession. Surprisingly there was an early sight of goal after four minutes and it came for the visitors.
Giorgos Masouras did some great work down the right to pick up Andreas Bouchalkis, who had a clear sight of goal from inside the box but was denied brilliantly by Vasilis Barkas’ diving save.
After things calmed down from around the sixth minute onwards, a confident-looking Olympiacos began to spray the ball around nicely as AEK sought to press high up the pitch and push the visitors back.
The visitors created another decent chance after nine minutes when the lively Masouras headed across goal towards Youseff El-Arabi. The Moroccan narrowly failed to connect with the ball at full stretch and the chance was gone.
AEK needed to regroup and get their foot on the ball, but that task proved difficult against a clearly up-for-it Olympiacos side, who were also looking solid defensively as well as dangerous going forward.
Further chances were at a premium for either side as the game started to fluctuate between scrappy and free-flowing. AEK had a couple of long-range efforts but none of them on target and half-time represented a chance for both teams to regroup and reassess their gameplan.
Olympiacos made a strong start to the second half, with Masouras again the danger man with a mazy run and shot. However, the Greek international’s impressive run was not matched by an equally impressive finish, and his tame shot was blocked by an AEK defender even before it could get through to Barkas.
There was not much in the way of a spectacle forthcoming as the second half wore on, with tight marking and strong tackling ensuring the play was constantly interrupted, leaving little room for any kind of tempo or rhythm to develop.
On the hour mark Olympiacos, who had been by far the more dangerous side, came agonisingly close to opening the scoring when Guilherme rattled the crossbar after latching onto Ognen Vranjes misdirected header from a Mathieu Valbuena free-kick.
AEK sought to respond and Daniele Verde was presented with the chance when Petros Mantalos released him with a pass. The Italian turned inside and tried a curling effort but his shot sailed over Jose Sa’s crossbar.
Vranjes was presented with a great chance to get a crucial breakthrough in the 81st minute for AEK when he rose to meet a Mantalos free-kick, but the Serbian defender timed his jump all wrong and headed off target.
AEK made life difficult for themselves in the closing stages when Simoes saw red after picking up a second yellow card for a foul on Valbuena, but the yellows held firm to earn a creditable draw after Valbuena was replaced by Fortounis.
STARTING LINEUPS
Aek: 1 Barkas (Gk), 3 Lopes, 21 Vranjes, 4 Economou, 2 Bakakis, 6 Krsticic, 8 Simoes, 7 Verde, 5 Szymanski, 10 Livaja, 20 Mandalos
Olympiacos: 1 Sa (Gk), 21 Tsimikas, 24 Ba, 66 Cisse, 14 Elabdellaoui, 5 Bouhalakis, 8 Guilherme, 4 Camara, 28 Valbuena, 11 El-arabi, 19 Masouras
