PAOK and Olympiakos and close to setting up a hot date for the Greek Cup final after taking the upper hand in their respective first legs of the tournament’s semifinals on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Olympiakos demolished AEK with a historic 5-1 away win on Sunday, to get within two wins from a second consecutive Super League title.
Greece actually snatched a point from visiting Georgia in Thessaloniki, instead of conceding two, as the 1-1 result was particularly flattering for the Greeks given their performance at Toumba on Wednesday night for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
Greece’s national squad during training Tuesday ahead of its second game in World Cup Qualifying Group B against Georgia at the Toumba Stadium in Thessaloniki Wednesday at 9.45 p.m. [InTime News]
Greece shocked Spain with a 1-1 result at Granada on Thursday, as despite the hosts’ complete domination of this opening match for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, the Greeks managed to escape defeat thanks to a second-half penalty.
Olympiakos is three wins away from retaining its Super League crown after defeating second-placed Aris on Sunday, but the big win of the day belonged to PAOK that dismissed AEK, as the 10-round playoffs kicked off.
![[File photo]](https://www.ekathimerini.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/hooligans-riot-police-320x200.jpg)
There are 3,000 “high-risk hooligans” in the Athens area, according to police at the specialist Sub-Division for Countering Violence in Athletic Venues.
Olympiakos gave Arsenal a nervous night winning 1-0 in London on Thursday, but that was not enough for the Greek champion that went out of the Europa League losing 3-2 on aggregate.
The regular season of the Super League ended on Sunday with Aris taking a clear advantage in the battle for the second spot in the upcoming playoffs, behind runaway leader Olympiakos, as both PAOK and AEK suffered road defeats.
Olympiakos got a taste of its own medicine on Thursday as Arsenal scored two late goals to beat the Greek champion 3-1 on Thursday in the first leg of the Europa League Round of 16.
PAOK snatched a late equalizer against Aris in Sunday’s Thessaloniki derby, while PAS Giannina downed Panathinaikos for the third time in a few weeks.
Panathinaikos and AEK cancelled each other out in the Athens derby on Sunday, compromising for a 1-1 draw, and PAOK suffered a reverse at Tripoli allowing Aris to leap back into second on the Super League table.
Ahmed Hassan’s late strike gave Olympiakos the ticket to the last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday, as the Reds lost 2-1 at PSV Eindhoven on the night but went through thanks to their 4-2 home win a week earlier.
Olympiakos dropped two more points, this time at home, in the Super League as Mitroglou scored a late penalty to give Aris a point in Piraeus. AEK’s home draw against Asteras allowed PAOK to go alone in second and cut its distance from the top to 12 points.
Olympiakos was resourceful in attack but rather careless in defense against PSV Eindhoven on Thursday, securing a 4-2 victory in the first leg of its Europa League Round of 32 in Piraeus.
Panathinaikos ended on Sunday Olympiakos’ unbeaten record in domestic competitions this year with a well crafted 2-1 win in the Derby of Eternal Rivals, though this has had little effect on the position of the Reds at the top of the table, with Aris also dropping points.
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