SLGR Standings: PAOK keep pace with Olympiacos as AEK fade into distance
PAOK defeated third-placed AEK to keep within touching distance of Olympiacos in the Super League, while OFI fell to ninth after another defeat.
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Olympiacos are in a rich vein of form. On the back of their derby victory against Panathinaikos, the Piraeus giants had their scoring boots on this week, knocking four past 10-man Lamia. Youssef El Arabi, the Super League top scorer, was the hero with an impressive hat trick, while Mathieu Valbuena joined in on the act from the penalty spot. Lamia sit in 10th position.
Over in Thessaloniki, PAOK once again proved too strong for Dikefaloi rivals AEK, emerging victorious 1:0 thanks to a second-half penalty from Vieirinha. As a result of this victory, PAOK are still only one point behind league leaders Olympiacos, but AEK are now 13 points off the pace in third position. Niklas Hult and Marko Livaja were sent off for AEK during stoppage time.
Following their derby disappointment last week, Panathinaikos quickly got back to winning ways at the Olympic Stadium in Athens on Sunday evening, easing past Panionios by a score of 3-0 as Christos Donis, Federico Macheda and Emanuel Insua struck gold. Panionios are still rock bottom with a mere six points on the board from the opening 18 rounds.
Elsewhere, Aris were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by AE Larissa at the AEL FC Arena, Xanthi showed character to beat Volos NFC and move into fifth position, Atromitos snatched all three points at Panetolikos with a late goal and Asteras Tripolis beat OFI 2-0 with Jeronimo Barrales converting a pair of penalties.
Player of the Week: Youssef El Arabi (Olympiacos)
El Arabi can’t stop scoring. Now boasting 13 goals in the Super League, the talented Moroccan forward was at his best against Lamia, scoring three goals at close range to help Olympiacos to earn a comfortable 4-0 victory on the road which keeps the Erythrolefki in first position.
Goal of the Week: Dimosthenis Baxevanidis (Xanthi)
In the 41st minute of play at Volos, the ball fell kindly to the feet of Baxevanidis, who subsequently unleashed a stunning volley which nestled in the right corner of the net. A wonderful way to open the scoring as Xanthi went on to defeat Volos 3-1.
2019/2020 Super League standings after 18 rounds:
Olympiacos, 44 points
PAOK, 43 points
AEK, 31 points
Aris, 26 points
Xanthi, 26 points
Panathinaikos, 25 points
Atromitos, 25 points
AEL, 23 points
OFI, 23 points
Lamia, 22 points
Volos NFC, 21 points
Asteras Tripolis, 18 points
Panetolikos, 8 points
Panionios, 6 points*
*Panionios deducted six points before season began after not obtaining Super League licence
