Green and yellow at the top with red shadowing close behind in the hot battle for the league title

Green and yellow at the top with red shadowing close behind in the hot battle for the league title.

The playoff and playout are in full swing.  It has been an intense few days, especially in the playoffs, where the focus is primarily directed for obvious reasons.  

Hot derby meetings replace each other and the table remains historically tight.  

The excitement is great and the undersigned summarizes below the last two rounds of the playoff and looks forward to this weekend's fourth round in the order, before there will be a short break due to Orthodox Easter celebrations.  

Round 2 - Sunday 2 April The second round of the playoffs kicked off on Sunday at Leoforos Alexandras where Panathinaikos hosted Volos.  

The meeting ended somewhat surprisingly goalless.  A heroically fighting Volos got a point from Athens after a fine effort from, among others, goalkeeper Boris Kleiman.  

Israel saved a penalty in added time from Andraz Sporar. Panathinaikos once again this season had a hard time worshiping a low defense and despite a lot of goal chances, it was a heavy result for the greens who this season got a little more points than they probably should have based on their performances.  

Coach Ivan Jovanovic had a lot to think about for the rest of the playoffs.  

At Toumba there was a heated battle between the two double-headed eagles. AEK would take a leaden three-pointer from Thessaloniki after captain Sergio Araujo neatly scored the game's only goal with 10 minutes to play, [Goal].  The Argentinian was elegantly played by substitute Petros Mantalos.  Best on the field was Araujo together with the center back pair Vida/Tzavellas.  

PAOK had a period in the match at the beginning of the second half where they got up to some desired level but without getting a payoff.  Right skipper Aleksei Kulbakov also had a sweaty time as he disallowed a goal for AEK in the first half for no apparent reason, putting him in the limelight.  

An intense Sunday ended in Piraeus where Olympiakos hosted Aris at home to Karaiskakis.  

The home side were very dominant in the first half and went into the break with a 1-0 lead after a fine long-range shot from Hwang In-beom.  

This was followed up with a 2-0 goal a little into the second half when Sokratis Papastathopoulos rose to the top of a corner and headed the ball into the goal via the post.  

Coach Míchel was forced to make two changes due to injuries to successful acquisition Sergi Canós (unfortunately probably missing the rest of the season) and Ousseynou Ba. Aris reduced the deficit with 20 minutes to play after Juan Iturbe capitalized on an individual error by substitute Panagiotis Retsos.  

Afterwards, Míchel made a triple change to strengthen the midfield, which, however, did not turn out well.  

However, Aris instead took over the match, which brought an equaliser.  Rafael Camacho sent in 2-2 in the 81st minute which was also the final score.  

Two very heavy dropped points for Olympiakos in the absolute top battle. For Aris, the score gave positive winds for the continuation and the fight with Volos for fifth place as well as the last European Cup ticket.

The next day it was clear that Michel submitted his resignation.  

The Spaniard felt pressured after, among other things, boos and dissatisfaction from supporters (Gate 7 in particular) and certainly some dissatisfaction with the board, which should have taken a clear position for him.  

Míchel came in last fall and took over a team in chaos with a huge squad.  Despite tough circumstances, he set the team in the right direction again.  

He can leave with his head held high and should undoubtedly be allowed to complete his work for the rest of the season. Míchel was Olympiakos' third coach this crazy season after Pedro Martins and Carlos Corberan.  

The big club's director of football, José Anigo, was immediately given responsibility for the team ahead of the PAOK match.  

The Frenchman is said to be in charge of the team until the end of the season before a new permanent coach is in place.  

Round 3 - Wednesday 5 April The first match out was the one at Panthessaliko Stadium.  

AEK was visiting sunny Volos and was able to take a solid 0-1 victory.  The team didn't do more than they needed to.  

Volos also felt a bit exhausted both mentally and physically after the demanding match against Panathinaikos. The only goal of the match came early in the match after a nice attack from "Enosis".  

Araujo played Levi García.  He in turn laid the ball up for Orbelin Pineda who with a controlled finish poked the ball in behind Kleiman.  Three important points for AEK in the fight for the league title and the best on the field were Pineda, Jens Jönsson and Vida who is back in great form.  

Aris and Panathinaikos met at Charilaou. The greens from the capital were able to leave Thessaloniki with a comfortable three points after the only goal of the match was scored by Andraz Sporar.  The goal came after a corner in the 69th minute when the Slovenian national team striker managed to head the ball into the goal.  

Scapegoat on Sunday and hero of the match/winner on Wednesday.  Aris did not play any further matches at all and must be dissatisfied with his performance after his fine pick-up against Olympiakos.  

Panathianikos had a weak first half but an even better second half.  Best for the trefoil were Ruben Perez and Dimitris Kourmpelis in midfield. The highlight of the round was last out for the evening at Karaiskakis in Piraeus.  

Olympiakos vs PAOK.  The big club from Piraeus managed to turn a 0-1 deficit at the break into a 3-1 victory.  Brandon Tomas gave PAOK the lead in the first half despite Olympiakos having their chances to take the lead.  

A lot went according to PAOK's game plan in the first 45 minutes. A quarter into the second half, the equalizer came after a fine individual number by the in-form Cedric Bakambu via a very elegant finish from distance.  

It gave Olympiakos air under its wings and the whole of Karaiskakis was at its boiling point. PAOK had it more difficult and 2-1 came after the returning James Rodríguez nodded and Dinos Koulierakis got a mishit, which led to Giorgos Masouras being able to head the ball in behind Dominik Kotarski.  

Young Koulierakis, who has been brilliant during the season, had one of his heaviest nights of the season.  With just a couple of minutes left in the game, substitute Youssef El-Arabi made it 3-1 after he narrowly slotted home a penalty [Highlights].  A dream start for temporary coach José Anigo and a really nice victory for Olympiakos.  

The win means that they are still very much in the fight for the league title, while PAOK will now find it very difficult to get involved in the fight seriously again.  

Extra praise to, among others, Oleg Rebaciuk and Yann M´Vila in the home team.  Ahead of Round 4 - Sunday 9 April With Panathinaikos and AEK on 63 points each and Olympiakos on 60, the battle for the league title is starting to look more like a three-emperor battle.  PAOK now stands at 57, which makes the situation considerably more difficult for them.  

The referee focus has once again been on the wallpaper before this weekend's round, where both Olympiakos and Panathinaikos were initially dissatisfied with the confederation's choice of referees for the meeting between the eternal rivals.  

First, the Croatian Fran Jovic was appointed, but he withdrew after the uproar due to injury.  At least there was communication outwardly.  The association again argued that it was difficult to get over the elite referees from the best leagues in the burning season.  

Shortly after the Croatian's refusal, the federation announced that it will be the Spaniard Carlos del Cerro Grande who will judge the super derby.  

The meeting at Leoforos Alexandras on Sunday (9/4) between the greens and reds is, to say the least, red-hot and of great importance for the top of the table. AEK, in turn, will host Aris at home at Agia Sophia, while PAOK will face Volos at Toumba.  

All matches are played on Sunday afternoon/evening.

Hellas Football 

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