SLGR Standings: AEK climb to second with vital Toumba triumph
AEK took the initiative in the race for UEFA Champions League football with a vital 2-0 triumph over PAOK at the Toumba Stadium, while Olympiacos formalised their title with their 2-1 victory against OFI in the Super League playoffs.
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The Enosi are emerging as the favourites for second spot and a coveted Champions League berth. Following their disappointing loss to Olympiacos at the weekend, AEK were trailing PAOK by three points in the standings, but they pulled level with the Dikefalos tou Vorra with a calm 2-0 victory in Thessaloniki. Bossing proceedings throughout, Massimo Carrera’s troops produced their best performance of the playoffs so far at the right time, barely giving PAOK a sniff in their own backyard. After missing a handful of great chances, the impressive Dmytro Chygrynskiy eventually opened the scoring in the 42nd minute with a header, before Marko Livaja secured all three points with a cooly taken penalty in the closing stages.
Both AEK and PAOK are now level on 59 points each. However, due to Livaja’s goal at the Toumba, AEK are above PAOK in second with a superior head-to-head record. In the regular season, the two sides drew 2-2 at the Olympic Stadium and PAOK won 1-0 in Thessaloniki, but the fact that AEK emerged victorious by two clear goals on Wednesday means that the Kitrinomavri are in the driving seat for second.
In Piraeus, Olympiacos formalised their 45th national championship with a 2-1 victory against OFI at the Karaiskakis Stadium, a win which means the Erythrolefki can’t be caught in first even if PAOK are proven not guilty of multi-ownership in July’s court case. On a rare start, Ahmed Hassan grabbed a brace for the champions, while OFI got on the board through Vajebah Sakor.
Elsewhere, Panathinaikos notched their maiden victory of the playoffs at the OAKA, beating a severely weakened Aris side 2-0 with Dimitris Kourbelis and Dimitris Kolovetsios hitting the target. As a result of their win, Panathinaikos are virtually certain to finish fourth, while Aris are three points ahead of OFI in the fight for fifth position.
2019/2020 Super League playoff standings:
Player of the Week: Dmytro Chygrynskiy (AEK)
The experienced 33-year-old Ukrainian centre-back was stellar for AEK in Thessaloniki. Unbeatable in defence, Chygrynskiy snuffed out PAOK’s attacking threat, leading by example with his composed and intelligent play. At the end of the first half, he notched the winning goal for AEK, taking advantage of poor defending to head past Alexandros Paschalakis. Chygrynskiy’s two goals this season in the Super League have both been netted against PAOK.
Goal of the Week: Dimitris Kourbelis (Panathinaikos)
Taking aim from long range, the determined Panathinaikos captain broke the deadlock against Aris in Athens, catching the opposing goalkeeper cold with his ensuing powerful attempt. That proved to be the winner as the Athenians clinched a morale-boosting win.
