PAOK drops points, then sees archrival Aris go top
Olympiakos and AEK recorded their first wins in the new Super League season, but PAOK stumbled at home, with all three of them to be involved in European action in the new week.
Champion Olympiakos left it for the second half to score past Asteras Tripolis in Piraeus on Friday, but the emphatic 3-0 result, courtesy of Kostas Fortounis’ opener and Giorgos Masouras’ brace, will have pleased Olympiakos manager Pedro Martins ahead of the Champions League playoffs with Omonia Nicosia.
AEK also left it late, but won 2-0 at Panetolikos on Saturday, goals coming from Marko Livaja and Petros Mantalos, while AEK keeper Panagiotis Tsintotas saved a penalty.
PAOK, on the other hand, could not beat spirited Atromitos at home, conceding a 1-1 draw on Friday, three days after eliminating Benfica from the Champions League qualifiers. Andrija Zivkovic gave PAOK the lead but teammate Enea Mihaj scored an own goal to equalize for Atromitos.
Aris is the only team so far to score two wins in as many games, with a host of teams having only played one game to date. Three days after sacking coach Michael Oenning, the Thessaloniki team won 1-0 at Volos and sits alone at the top of the table for now. Aris has agreed terms with former Lamia manager Akis Mantzios.
Lamia is actually at the foot of the table with two losses in two matches, after losing on Sunday to visiting OFI 2-1.
The Panathinaikos vs Apollon Smyrnis and PAS Giannina vs Larissa games were postponed, as promoted Apollon and PAS have asked for more time to prepare.
