PAOK wins Super League unbeaten, PAS Giannina goes down
PAOK has become the first team in 55 years to win the Greek league unbeaten, after it beat PAS Giannina on Sunday to send it down. OFI won at Atromitos and lives to fight another day, in the home-and-away survival playoffs.
Not since the distant 1964, and the Panathinaikos invincibles, had a team won the Greek league without a single loss. PAOK has just become the second ever team to achieve such a feat, recording an unprecedented 26 wins and just four draws in 30 games.
This has come after PAOK’s 2-0 win at Ioannina with second-half strikes by Chuba Akpom and Yevhen Shakhov. The match, that sealed PAS Giannina’s relegation, was marred by home fan clashes with riot police in the second half.
Olympiakos marched through the AEL FC Arena beating host Larissa 3-0. Its goals came from Ahmed Hassan, Omar Elabdellaoui and Mady Camara.
Similarly, third AEK dismissed relegated Levadiakos 3-0 away, goals coming from Tasos Bakasetas, Marko Livaja and Ezequiel Ponce.
Atromitos finished fourth after losing 2-0 at home to OFI, that has avoided the direct drop, while Aris ended up sixth thrashing Xanthi 7-2.
Asteras Tripolis beat Panionios 3-0 and has definitively renewed its Super League status, and Lamia downed bottom team Apollon 3-0 in Athens on Saturday to finish top among the teams outside Athens and Thessaloniki, for the first time in its history.
Panathinaikos has only just managed to return to the top half of the table, as it finished eighth after thrashing Panetolikos 4-0. Federico Macheda scored twice to take his league tally this season to nine goals, while Tasos Hatzigiovanis and Dimitris Emmanouilidis also got on the scoresheet. The Greens ended up with 36 points as they had 11 points deducted this season.
The final table of the Super League this season reads as follows: PAOK 80 points, Olympiakos 75, AEK 57, Atromitos 52, Aris 49, Panionios 38, Lamia 37, Panathinaikos 36, Panetolikos 36, Larissa 34, Asteras Tripolis 33, Xanthi 32, OFI 32, PAS Giannina 27, Levadiakos 21 and Apollon Smyrnis 10.
PAOK and Olympiakos will enter the Champions League qualifiers, and AEK, Atromitos and Aris will join the Europa League from its qualifying stages this summer.
PAS Giannina, Levadiakos and Apollon are going straight down to the new division to be created, “Super League 2”, and OFI will face Platanias Hanion (a Cretan derby) in a two-leg play-off later this month for a place in the top flight.
Next season the Super League will feature only 14 teams, including second-division champion Volos.
