Olympiakos, PAOK end regular season’s first half unbeaten

Olympiakos and PAOK have completed the first half of the regular season of the Super League on top and unbeaten, in the first time in the history of the top flight that two teams have played all their opponents once without losing a single game.

The two title rivals have created a distance of 10 points from third-placed AEK, but the title will as of this year be decided at the end-of-season playoffs, where the top six teams will play each other twice in an extra round-robin mini-league.

Olympiakos defeated bottom team Panetolikos 3-0 away with one goal from Daniel Podence and two by Youssef El Arabi, to leave the Agrinio team winless for the entire first half of the regular season.

Diego Biseswar scored the first and set up the second by Jose Angel Crespo as PAOK scored twice in the last 10 minutes to beat visiting Xanthi 2-0.

Olympiakos had asked for that game to be postponed after a media report alleged that a relative of PAOK owner Ivan Savvidis had acquired the training center of Xanthi and therefore entered the Thrace club’s share capital. The case has been referred to the Professional Sports Commission.

With new coach Massimo Carrera watching from the stands, AEK thrashed Panionios 5-0 at home thanks to a hat-trick by the Super League’s top scorer Nelson Oliveira and strikes by Daniele Verde and Petros Mantalos.

AEK has risen above Xanthi, Larissa and OFI, as Larissa drew 1-1 at Asteras Tripoli and OFI went down 2-1 at Lamia.

Panathinaikos is joint eighth with Lamia, after failing to beat host Volos (1-1). In the first ever clash between the two teams, Panathinaikos led with Tasos Hatziyiovanis and Volos equalized with Juan Muniz, both goals coming from the penalty spot.

The weekend’s best match was between Atromitos and Aris on Sunday, and finished 2-2 at Peristeri, with Savvas Pantelidis debuting on the Atromitos bench against his former team.