Brown Ideye

AEK has moved up to second in the Super League as it defeated OFI away and PAOK drew in Athens with Panathinaikos, while Olympiakos edged even closer to clinching the title mathematically.

The Reds downed Aris 3-1 in Piraeus and need eight more points in as many games to be crowned champion.

Olympiakos and PAOK saw their chances for a spot in the last 16 of the Europa League diminish dramatically after the first-leg games on Thursday, as Olympiakos drew 0-0 at home with Osmanlispor and PAOK lost 3-0 in Thessaloniki to Schalke.

Olympiakos won the top-of-the-table clash with second-placed Xanthi on Sunday to stretch its lead at the Super League table to 12 points, while AEK and PAOK are in trouble after fresh losses. Panionios has now joined Xanthi in second.

OFI beat Panathinaikos and is threatening it with elimination from the Cup, while another second-division team, Anagennisi Karditsas held AEK to a draw in a midweek set of group stage games that had plenty of upsets.

Three first-half goals gave a clearly superior Olympiakos a 3-0 win over archrival Panathinaikos in the Greek derby on Sunday to make the Reds a hot favorite for one more Super League title, as they have now opened a seven-point gap over the Greens. AEK and PAOK also had adverse results this weekend.

A breathtaking clash in Piraeus on Sunday night saw Olympiakos beat PAOK 2-1 for the Super League, while AEK and Panionios shared a much less exciting goalless draw on Saturday.

The new Super League season kicked off this weekend without any surprises, with a number of spectacular goals and with the four title contenders showing their caliber.

Olympiakos, PAOK, Panathinaikos and AEK all won, with varying degrees of ease, scoring 15 goals between them and accounting for 60 percent of the goals of the entire weekend that involved 14 teams.