SLGR Matchday 17 Recap: Unstoppable PAOK Roll On In Week Of Upsets
AGONAsport’s George Tsitsonis brings you a full recap of matchday 17 action in the Greek SuperLeague.
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PAOK’s relentless pursuit for an elusive league title continued this weekend as they disposed of Panionio 3-0 at home in effortless fashion. Matchday 17 represented another step in the right direction for Razvan Lucescu and his players as they attempt to bring a championship back to Toumba Stadium for the first time since 1985.
Elsewhere, Olympiacos continued to do all they could to stay in the title conversation with a 2-1 win at PAS Giannina. It was a routine 3-0 win for a rejuvenated AEK over Asteras Tripolis while the likes of Xanthi, OFI, and Lamia all beat more heralded opposition in the weekend play.
Here is a match-by match breakdown of the round including this week’s AGONAsport SLGR Awards:
PAOK were flawless again as they easily disposed of Panionios 3-0 at home. Diego Biseswar (11’), Vierinha (45’), and Yevhen Shakhov (69’) scored for the league leaders, who are still undefeated and remain eight points clear of Olympiacos. Panionios never really threatened in Thessaloniki, especially after losing Peter Makrillos to a red card in the 41st minute.
It was a lively opening in Giannina as Olympiacos came away with victory over PAS by 2-1. Two own goals opened up the match as the visitors went ahead in the 8th minute after Apostolos Skondras put through his own net, only for Olympiacos’ Jagos Vuckovic to do the same just six minutes later. Lazaros Christodoulopoulos’ goal was the difference, the Greek international’s 37th minute header handing the win to Pedro Martins’ men.
Asteras Tripolis went down 3-0 to a quickfire AEK side on Sunday at the Olympic Stadium. It was another lightning fast start for the defending champions. After defeating PAS Giannina with four first-half goals last week, AEK did nearly the same at the weekend by putting three past Asteras in the first 20 minutes. Marko Livaja, Alef, and Ezequiel Ponce all tallied for the host side.
Three big upsets took place in the round. The first occurred in Crete early Sunday as OFI defeated Panetolikos 3-0 on the back of a free-kick brace from Adil Nabo on his debut and a late Patrick Vouho goal. The result lifted OFI out of the relegation places and put stop to a nice run of form by Panetolikos, who saw Vlad Morar have a first-half penalty saved and also had goalkeeper Dimitris Kyriakidis sent off.
An even bigger shock took shape later in the day in northern Greece as home side Xanthi came back to defeat Atromitos, 2-1. The latter took an early lead through Super League leading scorer Efthymios Koulouris just five minutes in. Ten minutes before the break the hosts drew level through Petar Djurickovic and ended up winning the match thanks to Matias Castro’s 59th minute penalty.
On Monday night, the upsets continued as Lamia climbed to 13th in the standings with a 1-0 victory against Panathinaikos. Facundo Bertoglio scored the only goal of the game seven minutes after the restart. The win was only Lamia’s third of the season while Panathinaikos lose for the second time in four matches.
A couple of 0-0 draws rounded out the matches. Larisa and Aris could not be separated in a particularly physical contest. Apollon Smirnis and Levadiakos also played out a scoreless stalemate, a result that does little good to the team’s bottom clubs.
Matchday MVP - Adil Nabi (OFI)
The English midfielder enjoyed a dream debut as he led his new side to a 3-0 victory over Panetolikos. Nabi scored from two free-kicks to open up his account and impressed with his overall play. Nabi became the first player in the 19 years to score two free-kicks in the same league match in Greece. OFI will hope the performances continue as it would help pull the club further away from the relegation places into safety.
Goal of the Matchday: Adil Nabi (OFI)
The second of Nabi’s free-kick goals was fantastic as he expertly curled over the wall into the side-netting, giving no chance to substitute goalkeeper Nikos Giannakopoulos. It was a difficult area from which to score as Nabi had little room to get the ball over the wall and dip into the goal.
Save of the Matchday - Giorgos Strezos (OFI)
The 24-year-old goalkeeper had a superb outing against Panetolikos. Strezos came up with a brilliant save when the score was just at 1-0, the goalkeeper going full stretch to tip over Vlad Morar’s thunderous long-range free-kick. He proved to have Morar’s number on the day, saving a penalty minutes later from the Romanian.
Team Performance of the Matchday - AEK
2019 has begun brightly for the Enosi. A change in formation has seen a livelier AEK and resulted in seven goals scored in their last two matches. Marinos Ouzounidis must have been happy to see his side bulldoze Asteras Tripolis by taking a 3-0 lead inside the first 20 minutes.
Surprise of the Matchday - OFI
Arguably the result of the season for OFI, their 3-0 home win over Panetolikos, a side who entered the match on the back of some good form. The Kritikoi were exceptional in pegging back their opponents and in the process dragging themselves out of the relegation zone.
Disappointment of the Matchday - Atromitos
It has to be the Peristeri side this week. Considered darkhorses for a title challenge at one point, it has been a difficult end to 2018 and start to 2019 for Atromitos. After this weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Xanthi, where Damir Canadi’s side took the lead and still lost, Atromitos have now slipped to fourth in the standings. Should their poor form continue then falling out of the European positions remains a distinct possibility.
