Olympiakos’s own-goal win
Double-winner Olympiakos has stretched its gap from last-year’s runner-up AEK to nine points, beating it 1-0 on Saturday at home through an own goal by AEK’s defensive midfielder, Emerson. Olympiakos maintained its 100 percent record intact, despite playing with 10 men for almost the whole of the second half and getting outplayed in the first. Yet a backward header by Emerson from a Predrag Djordjevic freekick gave the Reds the lead at the end of the first half. Seconds after the reprisal Djordjevic received his marching orders for a second bookable offense. AEK complained about several referee decisions, including a goal wrongly disallowed as offside in the second half. Tomorrow they host Anderlecht for the Champions League, having scored just one win out of five league games, which may reshape their priorities. Playing without its star, Rivaldo, Olympiakos weathered the AEK storm but its two midfielders, Pandelis Kaffes and Ieroklis Stoltidis may have spent too much energy ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash in Ukraine against Shaktar. Second-placed Panathinaikos trails Olympiakos by three points after seeing PAOK Thessaloniki off 2-1 in Athens last night, thanks to a solo effort by Andreas Ivanschitz and a Dimitris Salpiggidis penalty. Carlos Zegarra pulled one back for PAOK. The three other Thessaloniki teams all managed to get a point yesterday by equalizing in the second half. Aris returned from Xanthi with a 1-1 score, Iraklis grabbed a 2-2 draw at Atromitos after trailing 2-0 and equalizing at the 92nd minute, and Apollon Kalamarias scored in the last minute to answer Panionios’s goal (1-1). Larissa climbed to third after coming from behind to beat Ionikos 2-1 away. Aegaleo moved to the fourth spot, beating Kerkyra 2-1 at home, while the Iraklion derby between Ergotelis and OFI ended 2-0 for the hosts.
