Olympiacos claim Champions League

Olympiacos claim Champions League berth(PA) Monday 19 April 2010


Olympiacos secured their place in the qualifying rounds of next season's UEFA Champions League as they beat Aris Salonika 2-1 to secure second place in the Super League.

The hosts went 1-0 up after 33 minutes through Michal Zewlakow but their task got tougher six minutes later when Rafael Urko was sent off. Aris levelled through Antonio Calvo's penalty, but parity lasted just two minutes before Olympiacos were awarded a spot-kick of their own, which Enzo Maresca levelled. Aris also finished the game with 10 men as Carlos Arano saw red 10 minutes after the break.

The result meant PAOK Salonika could not leapfrog Olympiacos into second, but they did all they could by beating Ergotelis 4-1. PAOK leapt out of the traps and were 4-0 up inside half an hour thanks to goals from Olivier Sorlin, Zlatan Muslimovic, Bruno Cirillo and Thanassis Papazoglou.

Half-time substitute Christos Chrissofakis pulled one back a minute after the restart, but the result proved irrelevant for both clubs, with PAOK having to settle for the consolation prize of a place in the UEFA Europa League. They are joined by Aris and AEK Athens, who beat Asteras Tripoli 2-0 with goals from Rafik Djebbour and Pantelis Kafes, while champions Panathinaikos won 1-0 at relegated Giannina thanks to Gabriel's second-half strike.

FC Xanthi secured their place in the Super League for another season by winning 4-2 at Iraklis, condemning Levadiakos to the drop. Xanthi let a two-goal half-time lead slip, but Mauro Poy (70) and Nathan Ellington with a 79th-minute penalty settled the visitors' nerves. That meant Levadiakos were relegated despite their 2-1 win at Larissa.

Elsewhere, Atromitos beat relegated Panthrakikos 3-1, while Kavala and Panionios drew 1-1.