Olympiakos has dramatically snatched Greece’s second spot in the Champions League qualifiers at the every end of the Super League playoffs, while Panserraikos and Larissa have been relegated.
Playing at champion AEK, that celebrated its 14th league trophy on Sunday in a title fiesta at the Allwyn Arena of Nea Filadelfia, Olympiakos needed victory to ensure it would finish second and get a chance to return to the UEFA Champions League next season.
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The Reds went ahead through a Rodinei goal late in the first half, but Aboubakary Koita pulled AEK level 18 minutes from the end, setting up a tense finish, with the game ending 1-1.
That gave PAOK the chance to overtake Olympiakos right at the end with a victory, and the Thessaloniki club went 2-0 ahead by half-time, thanks to goals by Magomed Ozdoev and Anestis Mythou, at Panathinaikos that had nothing to play for.
However the Greens – deprived of their fans due to a one-game stadium ban – bounced back in the second half and equalized with goals from Adam Cerin and Vicente Taborda, to get an unlikely 2-2 draw in the end that deprived PAOK of the second spot.
This was the last Greek league home game for Panathinaikos in their historic home ground of “Apostolos Nikolaidis.” Next season they will host their games at the Olympic Stadium of Athens, while as of the summer of 2027 they are supposed to move to their new stadium currently under construction at Votanikos.
The final table of the title playoffs is as follows: AEK 72, Olympiakos 66, PAOK 64 and Panathinaikos 52.
In the 5-8 playoffs, Aris downed 10-man Levadiakos 3-0 to pip it to the fifth post, while OFI beat visiting Volos 3-1. Aris finished fifth, Levadiakos sixth, OFI seventh and Volos eighth.
Asteras Tripolis managed to secure another season in the Super League, even though it failed to beat Kifissia at home on Saturday (0-0). That was because Panserraikos also drew at home (1-1 with Panetolikos), and Larissa’s 2-1 victory against Atromitos proved meaningless.
With one more round of games to play for the play-outs, and with Panserraikos and Larissa already relegated, Atromitos has 43 points, Kifissia 38, Panetolikos 36, Asteras 33, Larissa 30 and Panserraikos 29.
Kalamata and Iraklis will replace Larissa and Panserraikos in next season’s Super League.