With three victories in Toumba and “help” from Olympiakos, PAOK is champion!

Did PAOK deserve to beat Olympiakos in Karaiskakis, who also played with the “second teams”? No. Was this the appearance of a team that claims the Championship, that wants it and believes it will get it? No. Was the referee the only factor that decided the result of yesterday’s game? No.

All these “no’s” are a bitter truth. Which players and Lucescu must face, make their strict and honest self-criticism and fall headlong into work to take advantage of the last chance, which is called… Toumba.

On the other hand, Olympiacos would never have won this derby if the Portuguese hadn’t awarded a penalty which seven-eight times out of ten is not awarded worldwide and if before Olympiacos’ second goal he had whistled the foul on Sastre. The red-and-white argument that Sastre fell on Richards, who Richards had no intention of turning on, is ludicrous. He probably didn’t mean to, but it knocked him over. Ah, foul and it doesn’t even “raise” a discussion.

So, yes, PAOK did almost nothing to win, but given that Olympiacos couldn’t find any other way to score, they certainly didn’t deserve to lose and would very likely have won if, at 0-0 until then, Marcos Antonio’s goal was coming in the finale…

However, the referee’s decisions cannot be changed. What can change is PAOK. To “fill up” again with energy, with intensity, with runs, with speed, with concentration, with creation, with efficiency. To be filled with morale. And out of confidence. The title is not lost yet, as long as everyone believes it. Not only in words, but also in action.

Things are very simple: PAOK obviously wins in Lamia and then plays all year with AEK, Panathinaikos and Olympiakos in Toumba. Can he collect 12 points in these four games? This is the main point. If he collects them, he will have 79 points before the final game of the playoffs. And if he needs more, he must also beat Aris outside, in order to reach 82, although there is a possibility that a draw in the “Kl. Vikelides”.

So let’s see how many points the others can collect. We give three to Olympiakos with Ari away, another three with Lamia in and then AEK in and Panathinaiko out. Assuming he wins both of these derbies and only loses to PAOK (in the postponed one, whenever that happens) he will have taken 12 points and will finish with 78. Not enough for him to win the Championship. They are not enough for him even if PAOK loses to Aris. And I hope it happens that way, because that will automatically mean that neither AEK nor Panathinaikos get the title.

AEK has a guaranteed three points only with Lamia at home. If they lose to PAOK and Olympiakos, they have the match against Panathinaikos at home. If she wins it, she will collect six points and go to 78. Not enough for her either…

If we assume that Panathinaikos will be the winner of the derby with AEK, they have plus three points, another three with Ari at home and the match with Olympiakos at home remains. Even if he wins, he will reach 80. There are not enough for him either, but PAOK will just need to draw with Ari, because in a tie with Panathinaikos they will be better.

But pay attention to something else: If one or more of the AEK-Panathinaikos, Olympiacos-AEK and Panathinaikos-Olympiakos derbies end or end in a draw, then it is mathematically certain that PAOK will already go to the “Kl. Vikelidis”…

Kontologis: The first requirement is for PAOK to win all three derbies in Toumba. Second, to help the in-form Olympiacos with wins or even draws in the matches with AEK and Panathinaikos. Personally, I rule out the scenario of Olympiacos losing to both AEK and Panathinaikos. This case will be the most difficult for PAOK, but I consider it unlikely to impossible. Even if this happens, however, much will depend on the result of the AEK-Panathinaikos match.

PS Coach Razvan, nobody will be “spoiled” if you finally “land” the team with a real center forward. His name is Jima and he is also the most rested PAOK player. You took care of it yourself…