SLGR Matchday 18 Recap: PAOK Overpower OFI; Shocks in Lamia and Levadia
AGONAsport’s George Tsitsonis brings you a full recap of matchday 18 action in the Greek SuperLeague.
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PAOK continued their march to the league title in flawless fashion with a 4-0 rout of OFI in Matchday 18 action of the 2018/19 Greek Super League. Olympiacos won in Tripoli against Asteras to stay within eight points at the top, while AEK also maintained their recent good form with victory in Nea Smyrni. Elsehwere, surprise results were the name of the day as Lamia and Levadiakos scored big victories and Larisa snagged a point at Panathinaikos.
Here is a match-by-match breakdown of the round including this week’s AGONAsport SLGR Awards:
A brace of Chuba Akpom saw PAOK easily breeze past OFI in a 4-0 home win. Akpom’s double was joined by goals from Leo Jaba and Leo Matos in a convincing win for Razvan Lucescu’s men. The defeat, coupled with other results, saw OFI thrust back into the relegation zone.
Kostas Fortounis and Lazaros Christodoulopoulos scored to see Olympiacos past Asteras Tripolis 2-0. Fortounis opened the scoring for the visitors just shy of the half-hour mark and Christodoulopoulos added a goal five minutes after the break to give the Erythrolefki the win. It was the third straight defeat for Asteras who are looking to a more forgiving part of their schedule after playing PAOK, AEK, and Olympiacos in consecutive weeks.
AEK’s perfect start to 2019 continued with a 2-0 victory at Panionios. A controversial Petros Mantalos goal opened the scoring for Marinos Ouzounidis’ side in the 14th minute. Both teams had opportunities after the that, but AEK finally managed to seal the win in injury-time when Ezequiel Ponce made it 2-0.
Lamia and Levadiakos pulled off the shocks of the weekend with big wins on Sunday. Lamia defeated Atromitos 2-1 to climb out of the relegation places. Atromitos took the lead in the 47th minute through Efthimios Koulouris for the second consecutive week only to be pegged back by a strike from Joan Tomas two minutes later. Twelve minutes from time, Jeronimo Barrales scored the game-winner from the spot for the hosts.
In Levadia, the home side rode a Marko Markovski goal to victory over Aris in another surprise result. Aris had ten shots off target in a match where they were guilty of some wayward finishing as Markovski’s 38th minute header was enough for the home team.
Everything seemed to begin in perfect fashion for Panathinaikos on Sunday at home to Larisa. A man up and a goal up after three minutes, it was all going smoothly for Giorgos Donis and company after Federico Macheda’s 3rd minute penalty and the first minute expulsion of Larisa center-back Aleksandar Gojkovic. Larisa hung in there though, weathering the storm and coming away with a point after Milos Deletic’s equalizer in the 54th minute.
Apollon Smirnis’ faint hopes of avoiding relegation took a massive hit on Saturday after they lost to 1-0 PAS Giannina. Dimitris Manos’ 6th-minute goal was the difference between the two sides. PAS go to 17 points with the victory while Apollon, who played the last 15 minutes with ten men due to a red card to Vaso Vasic, remain dead last on a paltry six points.
Finally, in a foul-littered match, Panetolikos and Xanthi finished with a scoreless draw on Saturday. The game featured 45 fouls, but very few clear-cut chances.
Matchday MVP - Chuba Akpom (PAOK)
PAOK’s lead at the top of the table was supposed to be in serious trouble after leading scorer Aleksandar Prijovic left the club earlier this month. Instead, the eight-point advantage atop the standings remains intact and the team are scoring at will and spreading the goals around. This weekend PAOK were led by a brace and an assist from English striker Akpom. The 23-year-old showed another glimpse, with his two goals and fine overall display, that he has what it takes to fill in for Prijovic and make the difference up front for the Thessaloniki side.
Goal of the Matchday Chuba Akpom (PAOK)
Akpom superbly converted a wonderful team goal as he slid in from close range. Preceding the English striker’s finish was a well-worked move that began some 65 yards back as Maurico and Leo Matos played a give-and-go. Matos burst into space in the OFI before dishing the ball to the right for Leo Jaba whose pinpoint delivery found Akpom sprinting into the heart of the box.
Save of the Matchday - Ogmundur Kristinsson (Larisa)
A stunning stop by the Icelandic goalkeeper saved a point for Larisa late on. Deep into injury-time, Kristinsson did extremely well to react to Dimitris Kourbelis’ shot to tip it away and help Larisa claim an unlikely point away to Panathinaikos.
Team Performance of the Matchday - Larisa
Playing for a man down for the entire match with a red card in the first minute and then conceding from the spot shortly thereafter, Larisa looked doomed from the start on Sunday versus Panathinaikos. Yet, they dug in and eventually rescued a point in a heroic display from the ten on the pitch. In a week full of surprise results, this was perhaps the most impressive of those considering the conditions.
Surprise of the Matchday - Levadiakos
Nikos Karageorgiou’s appointment as Levadiakos boss paid instant dividends for the club. A 1-0 over Aris may not have pulled the club out of relegation trouble, but it was a positive first step against a side with European ambitions.
Disappointment of the Matchday - Atromitos
The Peristeri club are slumping big time. After taking the lead for a second straight match, Atromitos were unable, not only to hold on for a point, but guilty again of being on the receiving end of another comeback. It may not be crisis yet for Damir Canadi and his players, but certainly this is a team in dire need of a return to the win column.
