AEK and Olympiakos scraped through their opposition with solitary goals, but the story of the weekend and possibly of season is Levadiakos, that is holding on to a place that leads to the playoffs and a European ticket for the first time in its history.
Super League leader AEK was far from impressive beating Asteras 1-0 at Tripoli on Saturday, having to thank both Luka Jovic for his first-half goal and Thomas Strakosha for this second-half saves.
Olympiakos clearly had its attention distracted to its upcoming Champions League decider against Ajax this Wendesday when it faced Volos on Saturday and won 1-0 in Piraeus. Ayoub El Kaabi was on target for the Reds.
PAOK’s game at Kifissia was postponed after a request by the Thessaloniki team to get the chance to prepare for its Europa League match at Lyon this Thursday.
Panathinaikos did not have the chance to ask for a postponement (having already used that option earlier in the season) and drew 0-0 with host Atromitos at Peristeri on Sunday.
That means that Levadiakos, that snatched a late 2-2 draw at Aris through an injury-time strike by Ioannis Kosti, maintains a nine-point advantage over Panathinaikos in the battle for the fourth spot.
Unthinkable though it may have been at the start of the season, the players of manager Nikos Papadopoulos appear ready to take the Livadia team to the top-four playoffs that ensure a ticket to next season’s European competitions.
Levadiakos remarkably sports the best offense in the Super League, with 44 goals from 18 games. It has 35 points and stands nine points above fifth Panathinaikos, though the latter has a game in hand. The regular season has 26 rounds of games, and Levadiakos will face Panathinaikos in Livadia.
As if that wasn’t enough, Levadiakos has also reached the semifinals of the Greek Cup, and stands a good chance of reaching the final for the first time in its history, as it will face OFI Crete, last season’s finalist.
In other Super League games this weekend, OFI defeated Panetolikos 1-0 and Larissa downed bottom team Panserraikos 1-0.
AEK tops the table with 44 points, Olympiakos is on 42, PAOK on 41, Levadiakos on 35, Panathinaikos on 26, Volos has 25 and Aris 22. Olympiakos, PAOK and Panathinaikos have a game in hand.