Olympiacos secured a big victory tonight at Leoforos, beating Panathinaikos 2-0 and staying alive in the race for this year's championship.
Olympiacos punished the mistakes, they wanted it more
On one side, Olympiacos, a team with the greatest motivation to stay alive in the championship hunt, with a playing style they know and live by, and on the other, a Panathinaikos out of sync after the first ten minutes, with a plan to get the ball to Tetty.
When the Greek forward doesn't play the superhero, there is no creative play for the Shamrock, which couldn't impose its game.
The Piraeus team upped their performance from the fourth minute onwards, dominated the midfield battles, and scored 2 goals before the two teams went to the locker rooms.
Punishing a huge mistake dearly and finding quality plays high up the pitch. Panathinaikos, who saw Tzolakis respond to Tamborda's big chance in the 1st minute, had Lafont on a good night, as he saved El Kaabi's one-on-one in the 12th minute and another great moment from the Moroccan in the 33rd minute.
The biggest clear chance was... created by Jedvaj in the 33rd minute for Olympiacos. Without seeing Martins, he passed the ball back, and the Portuguese winger opened the scoring as if in training.
The 'Greens' had two inaccurate shots from Calabria and Tamborda in the 35th and 38th minutes, and in the last phase of the first half, Rodinei made a great individual effort, passing Hernandez and Ingason as if they were standing still, to score the 2-0 with a nice shot.
They comfortably held on and stayed alive
With the safety of a 2-0 lead and the pressure of a victory that would keep them 'in' the title race, Olympiacos ceded possession to Panathinaikos, moved their lines significantly further back, and the hosts tried to get back into the game without creating any truly great chances.
In the 46th minute, Swiderski shot wide, and Calabria's shots missed the target, while Pellistri, from a wide position, couldn't beat Tzolakis in the 60th minute.
The rise of Calabria and Pellistri made Panathinaikos more threatening, while the departure of Tetty in the 46th minute was welcome news for Mendilibar's defense.
The 'Red and Whites' easily held on to their 2-0 lead without being particularly threatened, Panathinaikos missed their second chance to fight for more than fourth place in this year's playoffs, remaining 8 points behind PAOK and 11 points behind Mendilibar's team.
The title race became a two-horse race, between AEK who are the favorites and Olympiacos who stayed alive in contention.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Rodinei. The Brazilian, who played as a right winger, made the difference with his overall performance. He scored an individual goal and... secured the victory for his team.
AT HIS BEST: Ese. The Argentine midfielder, along with Garcia, won the midfield battle in the crucial first half, which decided the derby.
WEAK LINK: Renato Sanches. A very poor game from Panathinaikos' Portuguese midfielder, who contributed absolutely nothing to the Shamrock's midfield.
In the same category is Hernandez, who is responsible for Olympiacos' second goal and was generally below par.
THE BLUNDER: Jedvaj made the mistake of the year. He passed the ball back into the box, never saw the forgotten Gelson, and offered him a training exercise. Alone against Lafont. A football 'crime'.
THE REFEREE: Moller was terrible in disciplinary control. In the 21st minute, Panathinaikos asked for a second yellow card for Ortega. On El Kaabi's big chance in the 33rd minute, from which the Piraeus team's goal originated, the hosts protested that the ball had gone out from Gelson's cross. There is no clear replay.
Olympiacos reacted, Panathinaikos once again had the same problematic image, and the Piraeus team, with this 2-0, continues to chase AEK for this year's title.