The new Super League season kicked off in Greece, with PAOK and Aris winning at home, while Panathinaikos began its campaign with a reverse on the road.
The two Thessaloniki clubs started off last Friday, due to their midweek European fixtures to come.
Aris came from behind to beat visiting Lamia 3-1, while PAOK had teenage sensation Christos Tzolis to thank for its 1-0 victory over Larissa. Panathinaikos suffered a 1-0 loss at Asteras that scored through Adrian Riera to get a well deserved win in Tripoli.
OFI drew 1-1 at home against Panetolikos on Saturday, while Volos upset host Atromitos at Peristeri winning 2-0, with both goals coming after Atromitos was left with 10 men. The match between the two promoted teams, Apollon and PAS Giannina will take place on October 21, after their request to begin their games in the top flight a little later, and the derby between AEK and Olympiakos, the teams that contested the Cup final on Saturday, will meet on December 16.
Olympiakos completes the double beating AEK in Cup final
Olympiakos completed the domestic double for the 2019-20 season beating AEK 1-0 in the twice-postponed Greek Cup final at Volos. This was Olympiakos’ 18th double.
The Reds outplayed AEK over the 90 minutes at the Panthessaliko Stadium and would have added to their tally on the night had they been more cautious in their final effort.
Olympiakos did not wait long before opening the score, as Lazar Randjelovic struck with just nine minutes on the clock.
A clever flick by Mady Camara released the 23-year-old Serb with some free space in front of him and he ran with the ball to shoot diagonally and make the most of the slow reaction by AEK keeper Panayiotis Tsintotas.
AEK failed to rise to the challenge of evening things out as it was often unable to reach the Olympiakos box and even lost the battle in the midfield after some time in the game.
In the second half Olympiakos remained the better team, creating more chances than its opponent and being tighter at the back.
On the 55th minute AEK right-back Michalis Bakakis made a clumsy challenge on Giorgos Massouras as the Olympiakos striker entered the box, but Tsintotas used his left foot to save the penalty kick by Youssef El-Arabi two minutes later.The Reds’ fans will not worry about that.
This was the successful conclusion of a season in which the club returned to the throne of Greek soccer, winning both the league and the cup, as well as reaching the last 16 of the Europa League.As for AEK, this was its fourth consecutive loss in a cup final in as many years.
