Panathinaikos break Aris down
SUPER LEAGUE PLAYOFFS - MATCHDAY 9
Panathinaikos emerged victorious for the second time in the 2019/2020 Super League playoffs with a 1-0 triumph at Aris in Thessaloniki.
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Dominant for the majority of the second half, Panathinaikos eventually broke Aris down at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium, as substitute Dimitris Kolovos nudged a header past the opposing goalkeeper in the 75th minute. Possessing 55 points, Panathinaikos are guaranteed to finish in fourth position of the playoffs, now 14 points clear of fifth-placed Aris.
At the weekend, Aris will face PAOK at the Toumba Stadium, while Panathinaikos will compete against OFI in Athens.
THE MATCH
Setting an entertaining tempo, both sides put an emphasis on attack during the first half, creating several opportunities to score.
Aris passed up a golden chance in the 40th minute. After Bruno Gama was adjudged to have been tripped inside the area, Giannis Fetfatzidis was denied from the spot by Vasilis Xenopoulos, with the talented Aris midfielder failing to strike the ball with any conviction.
Moments later, Aris thought they had earned a second penalty when Lindsay Rose fell under a challenge from Xenopoulos, but the call was rightly overturned following a Video Assistant Review (VAR). Vasilis Zagaritis subsequently missed the target for Panathinaikos on the counter.
Panathinaikos began the second half in an intense manner.
Forcing the issue, the Athenians carved out chance after chance against a tiring Aris side, with Anuar Tuhami firing over, Tasos Chatzigiovanis thumping an attempt against Julian Cuesta’s palms and Kolovos smacking the left post from a wonderful position. Dimitris Kourbelis and Dimitris Kolovetsios also headed over the bar in quick succession.
Aris’ only opportunity saw Nicolas Martinez lash the ball into Xenopoulos at point blank range.
Nevertheless, with 15 minutes remaining, Panathinaikos did make the breakthrough.
Completely unmarked, Kolovos successfully connected with Tuhami’s cross, heading the ball beyond the stranded Cuesta.
Struggling to get back into the game, matters got even worse for Aris with four minutes left on the clock, as Rose was dismissed with his second yellow card.
THE TEAMS
Aris: Cuesta, Bakoutsis (Diamantopoulos 77’), Delizisis, Bagaliannis, Rose, Matilla, Sasha, Martinez (Sousa 71’), Gama, Fetfatzidis, Mancini.
Panathinaikos: Xenopoulos, Athanasakopoulos (Kolovos 59’), Schenkeveld, Kolovetsios, Zagaritis, Tuhami, Alexandropoulos (Seprezis 59’), Chatzigiovanis (Theocharis 83’), Bouzoukis (Bech 83’), Kampetsis (Macheda 60’).
