Match-Day 2 is in the books for both Europa League and Champions League, with all the games having taken place between September 30 and October 2. Only one of the six Greek club was victorious, and that was Asteras Tripoli in Europa League. The six Greek clubs went 1-1-4 overall but most of them are still in the hunt to advance. There are only 4 matches left in the Group Stage of each tournament, so each game is extremely important from here on out – especially any remaining home games.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Olympiacos
In their second match, Olympiacos took on Sweden’s Malmo and lost by a score of 0-2. Malmo’s captain, Markus Rosenberg, was on fire and scored both goals of the match, giving the Swedish club their first points in the Champions League standings. Olympiacos had plenty of opportunities with 7 corners, 6 shots on target and even owning the possession 62%-38%, but they just weren’t able to finish. On match-day 3 Olympiacos will take on Italian side Juventus at home in Piraeus, Greece, and the Italian club lost their last match 0-1 to Spain’s Atletico Madrid. All four clubs in Group A are currently tied with three points, so each of their final four matches will be extremely important.
Group A Standings:
3 pts – Atletico Madrid
3 pts – Juventus
3 pts – Malmo
3 pts – Olympiacos
APOEL
Although Cyprus’ APOEL didn’t win, a 1-1 tie against their match-day 2 opponent, AJAX, was a decent result. APOEL’s goal came via a penalty kick in the 31st minute, just three minutes after AJAX scored the game’s first goal. Neither team was able to capitalize in the 2nd half where 71% of the game’s shots on target took place. Both teams remain winless in their group; however the Cypriot club finds themselves in last place with only 1 point. In their next match, APOEL will take on French side Paris Saint-Germain at home in Cyprus. Paris currently sits on top of the group with 4 points and they beat Barcelona in their last match by a score of 3-2. APOEL must come away with a win to keep their tournament alive.
Group F Standings:
4 pts – Paris
3 pts – Barcelona
2 pts – AJAX
1 pts – APOEL
EUROPA LEAGUE
Apollon
On match-day 2 Apollon was no match for Spain’s Villarreal who beat them 4-0, with 2 goals each from Moreno and Espinosa. The time of possession was almost split, but it was the 10 on-target opportunities that Villarreal created that put them over the top, and put them in first place in the group with 4 points. Apollon heads to Germany next to take on Monchengladbach who tied with Zurich and Villarreal in their first two matches. Apollon should hope to leave Germany with at least a tie.
Group A Standings:
4 pts – Villarreal
3 pts – Apollon
2 pts – Borussia
1 pts – Zurich
Asteras Tripolis
With a 2-0 win over Serbian side Partizan on match-day 2, Asteras Tripolis sits on top of the group with 4 points. The time of possession was almost even, however Partizan struggled to create opportunities to score. Asteras dominated Partizan with 22 attempts on goal, compared with only 4 from the Serbian club. Asteras will travel to England to take on Tottenham Hotspur for their next match. Tottenham has finished in a draw in their previous two games (0-0 with Partizan and 1-1 with Besiktas) which means they’re beatable right now; however winning on the road, especially in London, is a very difficult task. Even if Asteras leaves England with a draw, that would be a very favorable result for Asteras who’s the biggest surprise among the Greek clubs thus far.
Group C Standings:
4 pts – Asteras
2 pts – Besiktas
2 pts – Tottenham
1 pts – Partizan
Panathinaikos
On match-day 2, Panathinaikos disappointed their fans once again with a 0-2 loss on the road to Portuguese side Estoril and remain winless in the Europa League group stage. Estoril converted two of their 11 attempts into goals, while Panathinaikos struggled to even create any opportunities with only 6 attempts. Panathinaikos hits the road to take on Dutch side PSV Eindhoven next; they lost to Dinamo Moskva 0-1 and beat Estoril 1-0 in their previous two matches. This game is a must-win for Panathinaikos or they face the possibility of digging themselves in too deep of a hole to get out of the group stage.
Group E Standings:
6 pts – Dinamo Moskva
3 pts – Estoril
3 pts – PSV Eindhoven
0 pts – Panathinaikos
PAOK
As impressive as PAOK was in their first match, they were equally unimpressive in their most recent match – a 0-2 loss against French side Guingamp. The game was a bit more lopsided than the 0-2 score suggests, it could have gotten a lot more out of hand. Guingamp’s Marveaux dominated the game by scoring two quick goals in the second half (47’ and 50’) and led his club to their first group stage victory. PAOK needs to regroup as they take on Italian side Fiorentina at home. Fiorentina currently sits on top of the group with 6 points, having won both of their previous matches against Dinamo Minsk and Guingamp by a score of 3-0. PAOK, however, is very alive and should hope to walk away from this match with a tie at the very least.
Group K Standings:
6 pts – Fiorentina
3 pts – Guingamp
3 pts – PAOK
0 pts – Dinamo Minsk
Upcoming Match-Day 3 Schedule
Olympiacos v Juventus – Wednesday, October 22
APOEL v Paris – Tuesday, October 21
Apollon at Monchengladbach – Thursday, October 23
Asteras Tripolis at Tottenham – Thursday, October 23
Panathinaikos at PSV Eindhoven – Thursday, October 23
PAOK v Fiorentina – Thursday, October 23
There’s the match-day 2 recap! You can catch all matches on ESPN3.com or on the Watch ESPN app for iOS and Android. For a breakdown of all the clubs mentioned in this article and schedule of match dates, check out my first article on the UEFA Tournaments. Or for updated standings of all soccer teams related to Greece, including the Greek National Team and the Greek Super League, check out my Greek Soccer Standings page on my website.
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More from Thanasi at:
Blog: ExcuseMeAreYouGreek.com
Facebook: /ExcuseMeAreYouGreek
Twitter: @thanasiii
