With two goals by Niklas Eliasson (7′, 69′) and one by Eki Ponce (38′), the clearly superior AEK defeated Panathinaikos 3-0 and are now the absolute favorites to win the title after the PAOK losses and Olympiacos.
The most decisive step for winning the championship was taken by AEK, which, completely dominating the top derby, destroyed Panathinaikos 3-0 in New Philadelphia and escaped four points at the top! The yellow and black found an early goal with Eliasson, scored a second with Ponce before the first half and laid the foundations for victory. In the second the Union again with Eliasson cleaned up the derby and celebrated the three points inside the packed New Philadelphia with its fans who created a sensational atmosphere throughout the match.
AEK – Panathinaikos: This is how they started
In a variation from the expected line-up, Matias Almeida lined up AEK starting Araujos in the starting formation behind Ponce at the top of the attack. Pineda started on the left with Eliasson on the right and the duo of Szymanski and Jonsson was chosen in the center of the midfield. At the back there was no surprise, with Athanasiadis in goal and Hadjisafi, Cullens, Vida and Rota four in defence. In Panathinaikos, Bernard was finally left out of the mission as it was considered dangerous to play with Fatih Terim starting with Dragovski in goal, Huankar, Akaidin, Gedvai and Kotsira four in defense, Arao, Cerin and Bakaseta in the center of the midfield, Palasios and Limnios on the wings and Ioannidis on top.
The eye of AEK was shining and 2-0 with Eliasson and Ponce in the first half
AEK was… furious on the field, throwing sparks and was absolutely dominant in personal duels, in second balls, in an aggressive mood against a Panathinaikos who had no calm in their game from the start of the match, as a result of which AEK took advantage of it early. It may be that Ponce’s header in the 5th minute after Eliasson’s cross went past the crossbar, but two minutes later the yellow and black opened the scoring. Eliason stole onto Cerin’s careless pass to Arao, Pineda carried the ball and passed to Eliason with the Swedish winger latching on to a terrific left-footed shot into Dragovski’s net to give the Union the lead on 7′.
The stands of New Philadelphia gave momentum to AEK. Panathinaikos had a shot with Palasios in the 9th minute that went wide, Union five minutes later a strong shot by Ponce that was neutralized by Dragowski, with the Polish goalkeeper in the 21st minute blocking Vida’s header after the corner. The yellow and black continued with the same high tempo, coming dangerously forward and winning the space of the midfield, having another threat in the 26th minute when Araujo, after Eliasson’s cross, found himself in an advantageous position but shot wide.
The greens tried to react, but apart from Ioannidis’s header in the 34th minute after Bakaseta’s tackle, they failed to trouble the AEK defense, with the Union scoring a second goal in the 38th minute, confirming their dominance. After a cross from Panathinaikos, Akaidin in his attempt to turn the ball back made a fatal mistake, with Ponce coming out in front of Dragovski and placing it into the side netting to make it 2-0.
The dominant AEK found a third goal again with Eliasson and cleaned up the derby
At the start of the second half, Terim changed its “wings”, i.e. Palasios and Limnios, passing Vilena and Sporar in the match, turning the formation of Panathinaikos into 3-4-1-2 with Ioannidis catching a shot from outside the area which was easily blocked by Athanasiadis. Just before the one-hour mark, Almeida made his first change with Gacinovic instead of Araujo, with the yellow and blacks maintaining the tension and not being threatened by Panathinaikos, who had, however, raised their lines trying to re-enter the match.
AEK in the 61′ missed a huge chance with a double post when Pineda with a great personal effort found the crossbar in the area and then on the rebound Ponce saw the ball end up on the crossbar in an incredible double chance! Terim replaced Huancar and Bakaseta with Mladenovic and Verbic, with AEK on the other hand not letting their foot off the gas and reaching a third goal in the 69th minute amid apotheosis in New Philadelphia. It all started on the left with Pineda running inside to pass to Gacinovic, whose cross was blocked by Dragovski but Eliasson put the rebound into the net for 3-0.
Almeida continued with three changes, with Mitoglou, Amrabat and Levia instead of Eliasson, Rota and Ponce, returning for the first time to the formation with a trio in defense. In the 79th minute, from Leviai’s header, Pineda went in front of Dragovski but missed. Almeida completed his changes with Mandalo replacing Pineda as the Black and Yellows celebrated a huge win in the top-flight derby to move four points clear at the top.
MVP: Shocking match from Eliasson with two goals and inexhaustible energy. The Swedish winger is playing at different levels this year with a duration of the whole season.
At their height: Terrible match from Pineda who was everywhere despite his missed opportunities, great game from Simanski and Jonson in the axis who won the duels, full passion from Araujos in the time he played, fantastic match from Callens who extinguished Ioannidis. In essence, of course, no player of the Union was lagging behind.
Weak link: Arao, Cerin and Bakasetas in the axis were defeated by the AEK players.
The blunder: Without a doubt Akaidin’s mistake that allowed Ponce to make it 2-0.
The straggler: Panathinaikos called for a penalty in the first half after Araucho’s marking on Kotsiras at the moment he crossed. Delazo didn’t show anything and VAR agreed. There was no difficult phase in the game in general for the French referee.
The Gazzetta Fund: AEK played with tremendous passion and incredible energy against a Panathinaikos team that was unable to put up any resistance. The Union completely dominated and took the victory in the summit derby taking a decisive step towards the title.
AEK (Matias Almeida): Athanasiadis, Hadjisafi, Cullens, Vida, Rota (76′ Amrabad), Simanski, Jonsson, Pineda (82′ Mandalos), Eliasson (76′ Mitoglou), Araujo (58′ Gacinovic), Ponce (76′ Levi Garcia)
Panathinaikos (Fatih Terim): Dragovski, Juancar (64′ Mladenovic), Akaidin, Jedvai, Kotsiras (77′ Vaiannidis), Arao, Cerin, Bakasetas (64′ Verbic), Palasios (46′ Vilena), Limnios (46′ Sporar), Ioannidis
){kind=link}