2023-12-10 18:04:00
A few months after the finale of the most sensational championship of recent years where everything was decided literally on the thread, all the indications are that with this year’s Super League 1 we will experience a… déjà vu. It’s not a feeling, but a reality, and even more intense, based on what unfolded on the grass from the Big-4 in the first round that ended last Monday. THE Panathinaikos for the second year in a row he was named winter champion. The four teams finished with the same ranking, even if the score differences were different, and this seems to be the biggest guarantee that we will experience intense emotions until the end of this year’s play offs. And just the fact that last year the “greens” had closed the first half with eight points difference from the champion AEKwhile this year they are only at +1, says it all. The “K” takes stock and compares this year’s to last year’s first round. And the numbers, which rarely lie, agree that there is little that separates the frame of gladiators.
Panathinaikos: Improved, but “pale” in derbies
It is not so much the informal title of the winter champion that makes the “greens” optimistic about the continuation, but the reality that is also reflected through the statistics that they were the best team in the first 13 games.
With the most wins (10), the best attack and defense, the best goal difference (+28 with the 3-0 victory over Olympiakos), with first place in assists and more efficient than anyone, they seem determined not to repeat the mistakes they made in last year’s second round.
The difference from AEK may have been much bigger last year, but the image of Ivan Jovanovic’s team is clearly improved. And in this one must take into account the European obligations, which did not exist in the previous season.
Panathinaikos is more convincing, achieves victories with big scores, has more depth in the roster and apart from Fotis Ioannidis, players who are steadily improving and influential are Palasios (4 goals – 4 assists), the most decisive Sporar, the creative Bernard, the tireless Cerin in midfield but also Aitor who has fully rejoined. A parameter that should be taken into account in view of the play off is his current inability to win in a derby.
AEK: Remains pressing, although often “misplaced”
Those who estimated that this year’s AEK will show different things on the grass mainly due to its European burden, were not left out. Despite the fact that we are dealing with almost the same team, which surprised last year with the football they played, the image of Matias Almeida’s players is not the same and this is to some extent normal.
The “yellow and black” have lost part of the effectiveness of their pressing game, while at the beginning of the season they were constantly conceding goals and in fact the first, something that seems to have been corrected along the way. The Union had two lopsided games (1-1) with Kifissia and Panserraikos that cost them points and lost to OFI in Heraklion making their worst appearance with Almeida on the bench. She is just as inefficient as last year in terms of the many phases she creates in the opposition goal, but has found a way to score goals from set pieces at a rate approaching 40%. The scourge of injuries has not left her, as a result of the strong training sessions, with the big victim so far being the player-barometer in the attack, Levia Garcia. A special mention must also be made of Stankovic, who with his interventions corrected the defensive failures of the team, who this year gives rights and receives more phases.
PAOK: Progressing and promises surprises
PAOK is improved on all levels compared to last year’s first round and this is evident even with the naked eye.
Perhaps only Razvan Lucescu thought in the summer that his side would have this image a few months later, having secured their place in the last 16 of the Conference League with an 11-game unbeaten run, sitting two points off the top and playing superbly football.
Having scored ten more goals than last year, the “Bigfoot of the North” is making the most of the rotation made by his manager. All PAOK players have been activated by the Romanian coach, no one feels “left out” and all have contributed so far in Greece and Europe.
The management of the roster is one “weapon”, while the other, which is of course considered interconnected, is the climate in the locker room that is very reminiscent of that of the 2019 team that won the double. In addition to Zivkovic, who is the leader in everything, the performances of Yannis Konstantelias give another color to the game of the “black and white”, combining spectacle and substance. Decisive again this year is the presence of Kotarski under the posts, while the additions of Ozdoev in the midfield and Despodov and Samata in the attack have significantly contributed to the production of phases.
Olympiacos: He is not convinced, he changed his coach
Through both the statistics and the overall image of the team, this year’s best face compared to that of last year’s first round is confirmed. However, this was not enough for Diego Martinez to continue on the bench, after the “red and whites” proceeded to replace him. A move that in such cases is always a risk in the midst of competitive obligations. Apart from Kostas Fortounis, at the forefront of the strong and undefeated start was El Kaabi who proved his executive skill. The Moroccan forward, despite the sterility of the last matches, with the seven goals he has scored, is in the first place among the league’s scorers. This is largely due to the 53% accuracy rate (62 shots on target, of which 33 were goals).
In general, however, again this year, both in Greece and in Europe, the people of Piraeus are not convincing. If one excludes the creative estrus of Fortunis, the team has difficulty making rational play from the axis, while its general blocking function is problematic. He took full advantage of the passable schedule he had at the start, with several home matches, creating an undefeated streak, which was first interrupted in the… courts after the episodic derby with Panathinaikos and then on the grass against rival PAOK.
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