European jump with three in AEK and θη Aitor Panathinaikos!

Panathinaikos beat AEK 3-0, in the context of the 25th game of Super League 1, at “Apostolos Nikolaidis”.

The main protagonist of the winners was Aitor, with the Spaniard opening the scoring with a penalty in the 16th minute, while Palacios scored for the eighth time this year in the championship two minutes later and Ioannidis formed (what was to be) the final result, from Aitor assists in the 29th minute!

In fact, the Spanish winger – who reached the four goals – also had a beam in a direct corner kick, shortly before the break, with Panathinaikos being effective initially and in complete control of the match in the replay…

The “yellow-blacks” had two goals in less than a minute, in fact, with the shots of Ansarifard and Chuber in 25 ‘and 26’, they tried to get back in the game at the beginning of the second half but… until then.

With its first victory in a derby this year, the “clover” surpassed the “must” that existed before the match and can look even higher from fourth place…

As AEK is third, having one match less, that with PAOK, but is now only three points away.

In the… minds of coaches:

Panathinaikos lined up with a system 4-2-3-1, Dioudis under the goalposts, while Sanchez, Senkefeld, Veleth and Juankar were the four in defense. Ruben and Alexandropoulos played on the axis, while Aitor, Gacinovic and Palacios were the three players who moved behind the only forward Ioannidis.

AEK on the other hand “came down” having as a formation also the 4-2-3-1, Tsintotas in the home and Rota, Vranies, Tzavella and Hadjisafi in the back. Sakhof and Simoes were the central midfielders, with Garcia, Amrabat and Chuber composing the attacking triplet behind Ansarifard, who was the center forward.

The match:

Panathinaikos started with the mood to play fast, in order to find places, as AEK pressed him high, not to allow him to become threatening, but he did not succeed.

With the axis “loaded”, the “greens” searched one by one with the ends, mainly in the pair Palacios-Hadjisafi, but without any phase.

The “Union” was pulling out tension and keeping the opponent out of the area, while looking for movement in the back of the defense. While he had the first suspicion of a phase, with Vranies’s head going out, however, from a corner kick in the 5th minute.

Everything changed within a minute. When Rota scored… agarba Alexandropoulos, with the use of VAR, a penalty was correctly awarded and Aitor defeated Tsintotas, with a poor execution, for 1-0 in 16 ‘!

While, in the 18th minute, Palacios “emptied” Tzavellas, just below the midfield, pressed an area and shot with Vranies to find the ball, which ended up in the nets of Tsintotas, for 2-0!

AEK could have reduced the score, but was unlucky in doubles, with an equal number of beams in… 30 seconds. And if in the phase of 25 ‘, in the shot of Ansarifard, one would say that the ball “sculpted” the horizontal bar to reach a corner, the effort of the unmarked Chouber after the execution of the corner shook the left of Dioudis.

As it usually happens, since it was not 2-1, it became 3-0 in favor of Panathinaikos, even before half an hour! With the trained Aitor taking another precision cross from the left, Ioannidis finding the ball… as much as he has to send it to the goal.

The visitors threatened again from a “set up” ball, after a foul, but saw a header by Sakhof going out, in the 31st minute.

From that point on, the hosts were in complete control. They were not threatened again, they saw Aitor have a crossbar in the 39th minute, in a direct corner kick from the right.

While from another very nice energy of Alexandropoulos, Ioannidis made a nice pass of the ball but he created badly and lost the opportunity to make it 4-0, in the 44th minute…

In the replay, Argyris Giannikis intervened in a triple, throwing Mohammadi, Mandalo and Araoucho in the game, but without changing the system.

In fact, the latter was the one who made his presence felt with… good morning, as he forced Dioudis to chase with tension, his shot in 48 ‘.

AEK seemed to press better in the first minutes, took possession and lost another opportunity, in 56 ‘. With Mandalos passing with his head to Araούjo, he shoots, but Schένnkfeld puts the opposite and chases in a corner.

Even so, of course, Panathinaikos found the phases to reach a fourth goal afterwards. With Senkefeld and Aitor unable to score in the 60th minute, as Tsintotas repelled the Dutchman’s head, while the Argentine’s shot found bodies…

While in the next phase in a quick counterattack of the “clover”, Ioannidis went four-on-four with Stankovic, passed him but his place was lifeless, with Rota catching the ball.

Entering the final straight of the match, Panathinaikos managed to properly manage the lead it had. Giving space to his opponent and waiting for him to “hit” some opponents. In the end, this did not happen, AEK could not find a way to threaten and the score remained at the level of 3-0.

MVP: Without any discussion, Aitor Kandalapiedra. He scored, making it 1-0, gave an assist as he “served” the 3-0 to Ioannidis, while he also had a crossbar, in the direct corner kick that he attempted in 44 ‘! In general, he made a solid appearance, helping a lot in carrying the ball, but also covering areas when needed.

The “whistle”: The appearance of Antonio Nobre is very good, but also the refereeing of the derby as a whole. Only the Portuguese referee should have seen live the penalty that Rota made to Alexandropoulos, but this was also corrected by his compatriot in the VAR, Korea.

The compositions of the two groups:

Panathinaikos (Ivan Jovanovic): Dioudis, Sanchez, Senkefeld, Veleth, Juankar, Ruben, Alexandropoulos (77 ‘Vital), Aitor (86’ Hatzigiovanis), Gatsinovic (66 ‘Kourbelis), Palasios, Ioannidis (77’ Carlitos).

They stayed on the bench: Brinioli, Chatzitheodoridis, Kotsiras, Sarlia, Pougouras.

AEK (Argyris Giannikis): Tsintotas, Rota, Vranies, Tzavellas, Hadjisafi (46 ‘Mohammadi), Sakhof, Simoes (74’ Le Talec), Garcia, Amrabat, Tsouber (46 ‘Mandalos), Ansarifard (46’ Araούjo).

They stayed on the bench: Hadjiemmanuel, Svarnas, Mitoglou, Franson, Tankovic.

Referee: Antonio Nobre.

Assistants: Vassilios Nikolakakis, Konstantinos Nikolaidis.



4th Referee: Alexandros Tsakalidis.

VAR Referee: Gustavo Korea.

Referee AVAR: Michael Papadakis.

See here the description of the match from Match Center