SLGR Matchday 4 Recap: Prijovic Derby Double Hands PAOK Derby Win; Olympiacos Stay Top

AGONAsport’s George Tsitsonis brings you a full recap of matchday 4 action in the Greek SuperLeague.

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PAOK defeated AEK 2-0 in the highlight fixture of Matchday 4 of the 2018/19 Greek Super League. However, Olympiacos stayed top of the table thanks an injury-time winner from Ahmed Hassan.

There were also wins for Panathinaikos and Atromitos as the list of unbeaten teams was trimmed from five to three due to AEK’s loss and Aris going down to a defeat away to PAS

Aleksandar Prijovic’s brace gave PAOK a big 2-0 derby win over defending champions AEK. The Serbian striker struck just before the half-hour and the hour mark. It was perhaps a result somewhat cruel on an AEK side that had chances, hitting the woodwork twice and seeing PAOK goalkeeper Alexandros Paschalakis also come up with a couple of big stops. PAOK were much more clinical though and that was the difference Sunday night in Thessaloniki.

Olympiacos found the going tough in Nea Smyrni and looked to be on their way to dropping the first points of their campaign. However, a 92nd minute header by Egyptian striker Koka gave Pedro Martins’ side a precious victory that keeps them top of the table by two points over PAOK.

Panathinaikos’ stunning start to the new campaign shows no sign of slowing down after a 3-0 victory at home versus Levadiakos. Former Borussia Dortmund attacker Argyris Kampetsis scored his side’s first and his debut goal for the club in the 5th minute. Ilias Chatzitheororidis put the finishing touch on a fantastic team goal just before the break. Giorgos Donis’ young side had little trouble keeping Levadiakos at bay and added a third in the dying moments of the match when Federico Macheda skillfully set up Mattias Johansson with a give-and-go for the Swedish defender to score for a second match running.

Aris could not stay amongst the unbeaten sides as they fell 1-0 to PAS Giannina. Aris had hit the woodwork in the opening half, but PAS were dangerous on the counter all evening long. The winning goal came in the 65th minute for PAS when Aris’ Giorgos Delizisis saw the ball hit his heel to go in for an own goal.

Elsewhere, Atromitos easily dealt with Larisa en route to a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Bruno (54’) and Roland Ugrai (90’). Hristofor Hubchev saw red for Larisa in the 70th minute due to a second yellow card.

Asteras Tripolis finally got their season rolling with a 2-0 home win over Apollon Smirnis. Asteras, at home, scored both of their goals in the opening ten minutes as Giorgos Kyriakopoulos scored with a clever free-kick and Michalis Manias took a pass from Martin Tonso to fire past Huanderson in the Apollon goal.

OFI lost their third game from four on the season with a 3-0 defeat to Xanthi. Erik Jendrisek’s first-half brace (28’, 40’) put the home team into a comfortable position. Aleksandar Kovacevic put the cherry on top with a goal three minutes from the end for Xanthi.

Finally, in the other Monday night match, Panetolikos and Lamia played out an entertaining 2-2 draw. Franco Mazurek gave Panetolikos the lead at home after 27 minutes. It took Lamia until the 74th to equalize through Denis Epstein. The match continued to rock back and forth until the end in a wild finale. Nicolas Mana’s goal two minutes from the end seemed to be the winner for Panetolikos, but Lamia snatched a point at the death, some nine minutes into injury time with Daniel Adejo’s late goal from a rebound off a penalty save by Dimitris Kyriakidis. Panetolikos looked like they had scored an even later winner in the 112th minute, but it was ruled out for offside in crazy scenes in Agrinio.

Matchday MVP - Aleksandar Prijovic (PAOK)

Who else, but Prijovic this week? The Serbian striker has to be the pick thanks to his two well-taken efforts against AEK. The strikes underlied what a find Prijovic has been for PAOK. Not only does he score, but Prijovic is becoming known as a striker that scores important goals. With an injury-free Prijovic, PAOK fans will be dreaming that this could be their year.

Goal of the Matchday - Aleksandar Prijovic (PAOK)

PAOK and Prijovic’s second was a superb goal. The play began with a surging run through midfield by Prijovic’s teammate Leo Matos. The defender played a ball out wide to Prijovic. He sent it back to Matos on the right flank. Matos then danced past Kostas Galanopoulos and sent in a pinpoint cross that Prijovic finished well into the net past Vasilis Barkas.

Save of the Matchday - Sokratis Dioudis (Panathinaikos)

Levadiakos’ Chumbinho saw his driven shot from well outside the area turned away from the wonderful tip-over the bar save by Panathinaikos’ 25-year-old keeper.

Team Performance of the Matchday - PAOK

It may not have been the best performance this PAOK side has managed under Razvan Lucescu, however it may have been one of the more important results under the Romanian manager. This was a match that saw AEK conjure up a fair amount of scoring chances, but PAOK held firm and showed to be extremely efficient in front of goal.

Surprise of the Matchday - PAS Giannina

A fine win for PAS Giannina against Aris on Saturday. Though Aris hit the post, PAS were the better side as they manufactured several chances against the previously unbeaten Thessaloniki team.

Disappointment of the Matchday - OFI

OFI are beginning to cause supporters some concern with their performances. After a promising 2-2 draw to open the campaign against Panionios, OFI are losers of three straight. Against Xanthi, it was another below par effort for the Cretans. OFI must now go into a tough stretch in their schedule with matches against AEK and Olympiacos coming up as they try to find a way to rebound from their early season struggles.

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