Keeper Tsintotas gives AEK fans the season’s best save

AEK’s reserve keeper Panagiotis Tsintotas produced arguably the save of the season on Wednesday to safeguard all three points for his team in the game with Asteras Tripolis, just five minutes after coming on as a substitute. AEK remains 10 points behind Super League leaders Olympiakos and PAOK which scored easy wins.

Greek goalkeeper Vassilis Barkas got injured and was replaced eight minutes from the end of the game at the Olympic Stadium with AEK already leading Asteras 2-1, courtesy of goals from Petros Mantalos and Marko Livaja. Luis Fernandez had pulled one back for Asteras four minutes before Barkas came off, with Tsintotas coming on without any time to warm up, as is usually the case with substitute keepers when they put on their gloves.

Then with three minutes left on the clock, Fernandez tried a bullet header that seemed destined to become the equalizer, only for Tsintotas to dive to his right and produce an instictive save that had Asteras' Matias Iglesias congratulating him in disbelief. AEK won and is now on 27 points from 15 games.

Olympiakos is on 37 after thrashing Larissa 4-1 at home on Wednesday, through two goals by Giorgos Masouras and one each by Hillal Soudani and Youssef El-Arabi who is now the league’s top scorer with nine goals.

PAOK is also on 37 after downing Panionios 2-0 at Nea Smyrni on Thursday, courtesy of second-half strikes by Sverrir Ingi Ingason and Chuba Akpom.

OFI, in fourth, settled at home for a 1-1 draw with joint fifth Panathinaikos. OFI led with Joao Figueiredo, but 10-man Panathinaikos drew level six minutes from the end with a Federico Macheda penalty kick.

In other midweek matches Atromitos shared a 1-1 draw with Lamia, Aris dismissed visiting Volos 4-0 to join Panathinaikos at the fifth spot, while Xanthi and Panetolikos produced a stalemate.