Greek Clubs in Europe: Performance Review

By Stephen Kountourou 

Now that all of the group-stage matches are complete, we can look back at the performances of the Greek sides in the Europa League and Conference League. Reflecting on how they performed, whether they stayed in Europe for 2024, or crashed out altogether.  

UEFA Europa League 

Olympiakos

Group A

W2 D1 L3

3rd Place  

If there was a team that were the makers of their downfall in this campaign, it was Olympiakos. After confidently qualifying for the Europa League under then-manager Diego Martinez, Thrylos first hosted Freiburg, a familiar opponent. This ended in disaster, with two gifted goals, and a late winner and, despite an Ayoub El Kaabi brace, Freiburg ran out 2-3 winners in Piraeus.

Thrylos went to Serbia needing a win against TSC Baka Topola. At first, it was routine, with Olympiakos 0-2 after an hour. Minutes later, Baka Topola pulled one back to make it 1-2. Andreas Ndoj was sent off with 20 minutes to go and to top it all off, the hosts found their equaliser in added time to draw 2-2 to shock the Piraeus side. 

They went into the doubleheader against West Ham, needing something to stay in the running for the top two. The first match in Piraeus was the most impressive result for Olympiakos this season and despite a late goal from the Hammers, they held on to win 2-1 and gave their fans another famous night on the European stage. 

The return leg in London ended in a narrow 1-0 defeat for a rather toothless Olympiakos side, as Luis Paqueta this time scored what would be the winner for the Hammers.

The penultimate match against Freiburg in Germany was a must-win for Thrylos. However, the Piraeus side suffered their worst defeat for 15 years with a 5-0 thrashing and was eliminated from the Europa League. 

This would ultimately spell the end of Diego Martinez’s tenure at the club. He was replaced by Carlos Carvalhal. The experienced Portugues manager, in his first game in charge, was able to help guide Olympiakos to an exciting 5-2 victory over Baka Topola, in an empty Karaiskakis Stadium to finish 3rd and qualify for the UEFA Conference League playoffs.

AEK Athens 

Group B

W1 D1 L4

4th Place  

The team with the group of death, AEK shocked everyone by defeating Brighton 2-3 away at the Amex Stadium. However, after their strong start to the group stages, Enosis could only manage a 1-1 draw at Agia Sofia, against a struggling Ajax side, on match day two.

The back-to-back matches against Ligue 1 giants Marseille, both ended in defeat. Matias Almeyda’s men were unfortunate to lose 3-1 away in France, after going down to 10 men and conceding a controversial penalty. 

The same can be said in Athens, with AEK having 22 shots and seven on target, but could not score past the inspired Pau Lopez, as Marseille ran out 0-2 winners.

In their penultimate match against Brighton at Agia Sofia, the Greek champions needed at least a draw to keep their slim hopes of finishing 2nd place alive. This was extinguished as Roberto De Zerbi’s team edged past AEK with a narrow 0-1 win, despite Enosis creating more chances, with 19 shots and five on target. 

But thanks to a penalty from Joao Pedro, and the home side going down to 10 men again, AEK were eliminated from the Europa League, with the away trip to Ajax being a must not lose game.

Sadly the Dutch side got the better of Matias Almeydas and ran out 3-1 winners in Amsterdam, piping AEK to 3rd place and the Conference League and dumbing the Greek champions out of Europe altogether.        

Panathinaikos 

Group F

W1 D1 L4

4th Place

The Prasini, much like AEK, started the Europa League group stages in flying fashion, defeating Laliga side Villarreal 2-0 at the Olympic Stadium to mark their long-awaited return to the European stage. 

Also like AEK however, it started to go downhill for PAO. A laboured 0-0 draw in Israel against Maccabi Haifa followed, with Ivan Jovanovic’s men not even having a shot on target the whole game. The two matches against French side Renne, both ended in defeat, despite improved performances. 

A 1-2 defeat at Leoforos on match day three, where PAO out-possessed and outshot their opponents, was followed by a 3-1 loss in France. Even with their Ligue 1 hosts having a man sent off in the 33rd minute, it was not enough to get a result away from home. 

The defeats meant that Panathinaikos went into their trip to Villarreal needing at least a draw to stay within touching distance of 2nd come in the final game against Maccabi Haifa. 

The normally strong defence of the Athenian side was undone by the former Europa League champions, who scored twice in the first half, and immediately after the restart, to put PAO almost out of reach of a result. To their credit, they fought back to make it 3-2 it was merely a consolation and Panathinaikos were eliminated from the Europa League. 

They went into the last game against Maccabi Haifa with a draw being enough to keep them in 3rd place. The Israeli side shocked PAO at Leoforos however, and claimed Conference League football with a 1-2 win, and just like AEK, Panathinaikos exited Europe.

UEFA Conference League

PAOK 

Group G

W5 D1 L0

1st Place

By contrast, PAOK had an excellent European campaign by all accounts. The Aspormavroi began their campaign with an exciting 2-3 win away to HJK Helsinki.

The biggest test was against former Europa League champions and group favourites Frankfurt, who the Thessaloniki side hosted on match day two. Răzvan Lucescu's men were inspired to a shock 2-1 victory over the Bundesliga side, with a late goal from Konstantinos Kouliarakis sealing the win in added time. 

The doubleheader against Scottish side Aberdeen was a potential banana skin for PAOK. In Scotland however, the match ended in a five-goal thriller, as the Aspromavri came from two goals down to win 2-3, with the winner being a 96th-minute penalty. 

The return match at Toumba was an important one, with PAOK only needing a draw to secure a place in the Conference League knockout stages. They fulfilled the minimum requirements in a 2-2 draw against Aberdeen. 

PAOK, if they replicated their win against Frankfurt, would guarantee themselves the top spot and a place in the round of 16, and they did just that. A 1-2 win in Germany sealed 1st place, meaning they went into their final group stage game against Helsinki with nothing else to play for. 

Even with the top spot secured, Lucescu started a strong side at home against Helsinki. PAOK ran out 4-2 winners in front of their home fans and added to their already impressive campaign by finishing undefeated in their group. 

@SteveKountourou

Hellas Football