SLGR Standings: Panathinaikos move into fourth
Panathinaikos moved into fourth position of the Super League with a gritty win at Xanthi, while the leading trio of Olympiacos, PAOK and AEK all emerged victorious in their respective matches.
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There was plenty of entertaining football on show in Piraeus. Aris, who turned up at the Karaiskakis Stadium to play an open style of game, had their chances against a shaky Olympiacos team, but they were made to pay for their profligacy as Guilherme, Youssef El Arabi, Omar Elabdellaoui and Mathieu Valbuena all scored to earn an important 4-2 triumph for the hosts. Lindsay Rose and Nicolas Diguiny grabbed the two Aris goals, as the Thessaloniki club fall to sixth spot behind Panathinaikos and OFI. Olympiacos, on the other hand, continue leading the standings.
Over in Thessaloniki, PAOK predictably made short work of 10-man Asteras Tripolis, easing to a comfortable 3-1 triumph as Karol Swiderski, Dimitris Pelkas and Lazaros Lamprou hit the target for the reigning Greek champions. At the moment, the Dikefalos tou Vorra are still trailing league leaders Olympiacos by one point, but they will be hopeful of their rivals dropping points against either OFI or AEK this week. Asteras languish in 12th.
At the Olympic Stadium, AEK stormed to a routine 3-0 triumph over AE Larissa, with Portuguese trio Andre Simoes, Nelson Oliveira and Helder Lopes all scoring the goals. Although they are still 13 points behind Olympiacos, the Kitrinomavri do now boast a confident six-point advantage over Panathinaikos in fourth, as they aim to at least finish in the top three.
Panathinaikos are beginning to gain traction again. Following their dramatic triumph over PAS Giannina in the Greek Cup midweek, the buoyant Athenians went on to tally their third consecutive win in all competitions this weekend, defeating Xanthi 1-0 on the road with a goal from Federico Macheda. Due to Aris’ loss, Panathinaikos have climbed to fourth position of the Super League, having won their last two games in the championship. Xanthi occupy eighth place.
Elsewhere, OFI earned a vital 2-1 victory at struggling Panionios which snapped their five-game losing streak in all tournaments, Panetolikos grabbed a late equaliser to salvage a point against Lamia at home and Volos NFC held Atromitos to a goalless draw in Peristeri.
Player of the Week: Nelson Oliveira (AEK)
Oliveira has turned out to be an excellent signing for AEK. Once again, he took a leading role for the Athens-based club on Sunday, as he provided the assist for Simoes’ winning goal before notching the second goal with a powerful drive into the right corner. The Portuguese forward has now scored nine goals in the Super League.
Goal of the Week: Omar Elabdellaoui (Olympiacos)
What a way to score your first league goal of the season. Calmly collecting a searching pass from Valbuena, Elabdellaoui sharply cut to a shooting position, subsequently unleashing a powerful effort which flew past Fabian Ehmann with the help of a slight deflection.
2019/2020 Super League regular season standings after 19 rounds:
Olympiacos, 47 points
PAOK, 46 points
AEK, 34 points
Panathinaikos, 28 points
OFI, 26 points
Aris, 26 points
Atromitos, 26 points
Xanthi, 26 points
Lamia, 23 points
AEL, 23 points
Volos NFC, 22 points
Asteras Tripolis, 18 points
Panetolikos, 9 points
Panionios, 6 points*
*Panionios deducted six points because of failure to obtain Super League licence
