Leto leads PAO to another victory
Panathinaikos ended its Super League commitments for 2011 with a 3-1 win over Asteras Tripolis in Athens to overtake AEK and get to within one point from leader Olympiakos, also having a game in hand. In other games on December 17 Xanthi beat Panionios 1-0 and Ergotelis downed Levadiakos 1-0 away.
Sebastian Leto scored twice for Panathinaikos to stretch his lead at the scorers? chart and take his tally so far this season to 14 goals in 12 league games.
The Argentinean opened the score just six minutes into the match at the Olympic Stadium after an indirect freekick, but the rest of the first half belonged to Asteras who was repeatedly denied by Panathinaikos keeper Stefanos Kapino, while Ilias Solakis hit the woodwork twice.
In the second half Asteras began as the better side but Panathinaikos doubled its lead through a Jean-Alain Boumsong header in the 66th from a Leto corner.
Thirteen minutes later Costas Katsouranis crossed from the right to the edge of the box to Leto who slotted the ball in for 3-0.
Fernando Usero pulled one back from Asteras, also from the edge of the box six minutes from time.
Xanthi scored one more home win beating Panionios with a solitary Marko Markovski goal at the 26th minute to climb to the fourth spot.
Levadiakos suffered its second home loss in four days, as after losing to Olympiakos on December 14 it went down to Ergotelis due to an own goal by Christos Lisgaras from the seventh minute.
The match was stopped at the 55th minute as the lights went out for half an hour at the Livadia stadium.
