SLGR Standings: AEK continue UCL charge
AEK opened up a two-point gap over PAOK in the race for UEFA Champions League football in the Super League playoffs, while three playout matches ended level.
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PLAYOFFS
The Enosi are edging towards the Champions League again. Following their win at PAOK on Wednesday, AEK were far too strong for a desperately poor Aris side at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium, emerging victorious by a score of 4-1 thanks to goals from Nelson Oliveira, Andre Simoes and Damian Szymanski. Aris had initially equalised in the first half with Bruno Gama’s harmless effort taking a wicked ricochet off Dmytro Chygrynskiy’s leg.
AEK are now two points ahead of PAOK in second position after the Dikefalos tou Vorra were held to a frustrating 2-2 draw by OFI. In the first half, Diego Biseswar handed PAOK the lead from close range, but Juan Neira and Vitor Figueiredo subsequently put OFI in the driving seat. In the second half, a wonderful free kick from Giannis Michailidis drew PAOK level, but that was all they could muster. OFI are two points behind fifth-placed Aris.
On Sunday evening, the latest edition of the Derby of Eternal Enemies was certainly one to forget, as Panathinaikos and champions Olympiacos played to a dour 0-0 draw. The highlight was Sokratis Dioudis’ penalty save to deny Mathieu Valbuena from the spot.
PLAYOUTS
The race for survival is still as hot as ever. Interestingly, three draws were witnessed on Monday, with the Lamia - Xanthi (0-0), AE Larissa - Panionios (0-0) and Atromitos - Panetolikos (2-2) battles ending level pegging. As it stands, Panionios are still bottom of the standings with 22 points on the board, but they are only one point behind Panetolikos and Xanthi.
Asteras lead the playout table by one point after they eased to an emphatic 4-0 triumph over Volos NFC in Tripoli. Luis Fernandez grabbed an impressive hat trick for the hosts.
Player of the Week: Nelson Oliveira (AEK)
The strong Portuguese forward was on fire in Thessaloniki. Causing the Aris defence plenty of problems throughout the game, Oliveira opened the scoring with a low drive in the first half, before he gifted AEK their second lead of the day in the 52nd minute after he received a wonderful pass from Petros Mantalos.
Goal of the Week: Giannis Michailidis (PAOK)
What a way to introduce yourself to the scene. With PAOK trailing in the 76th minute, the 20-year-old defender curled a fantastic free kick into the right corner, giving the goalkeeper no chance. This was his first senior goal for PAOK on his third Super League appearance.
