AEK gets the better of Olympiakos again, ousting it from the Cup

AEK eliminated Olympiakos from the Cup for a second year in a row to reach the tournament’s semifinals along with PAOK, Panionios and Larissa.

The Yellows followed up the first leg’s goalless draw in Piraeus with a 2-1 win at the Olympic Stadium of Athens on Wednesday.

The host played a rather cautious first half, but Olympiakos seemed toothless for most of the game, particularly so after the interval when it seemed to lack the spirit required for a derby. AEK, on the other hand, was clinical in its finishing and particularly dominant in midfield in the second half.

Lazaros Christodoulopoulos and Marko Livaja were on target for AEK, while Panayiotis Tachtsidis pulled one back seven minutes from time for Olympiakos, setting up a tense finish where AEK keeper Vassilis Barkas saved AEK twice from elimination.

Olympiakos coach Oscar Garcia missed the game due to a health problem. Hs was fortunate enough in also missing the 300 Olympiakos fans who jeered their team upon its return to Piraeus on Wednesday night.

PAOK beat Atromitos 3-1 at Peristeri on Thursday and went through on a 5-1 aggregate score. The holder had Yevhen Shakhov, Jose Canias and Efthymis Koulouris on target, with Thodoris Vassilakakis temporarily equalizing for the host.

At Larissa the home team had a 2-1 lead from the first leg but PAS Giannina matched that score in the return game on Wednesday to force extra time, where Larissa scored twice to win 3-2 and 5-3 on aggregate.

Panionios beat Lamia for a second time, adding a 4-1 away win to its 1-0 home victory, for a 5-1 aggregate score.