Olympiacos clinches Greek title

ATHENS

Olympiacos Algerian midfielder Djamel Abdoun. AFP PHOTO / PATRIK STOLLARZ

Olympiacos is celebrating its 40th Greek league title and its third in succession after cruising to a 3-0 victory against AEK Athens on the day of their 88th anniversary.

Playing in front of a packed crowd at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium March 10, the Piraeus outfit made short work of AEK to keep itself 16 points clear of nearest challenger Asteras Tripolis with five games remaining. Captain Avraam Papadopoulos got the ball rolling when he met Rafik Djebbour’s header from a Jose Holebas cross and scored with 14 minutes gone, giving Olympiacos the perfect start in only his second match back since picking up an injury at EURO 2012.

The defending champion was entirely dominant and increased its lead on 56 minutes, again through Papadopoulos, who doubled his tally with a towering header from another Holebas cross. Six minutes later, Djebbour provided his second assist of the evening and his fellow Algerian international Djamel Abdoun registered with a close-range finish.

For coach Míchel, appointed in February, the victory represented a first league trophy of his coaching career, and the Spaniard was understandably delighted.

“I’m very happy and glad to have contributed to the evolution of this big club,” he said. “We are obviously overjoyed with the league title and our goal now is to achieve the domestic double. I dedicate this title to my players who have followed my instructions to the letter.”

Olympiacos faces PAS Giannina FC in the Greek Cup quarterfinals on March.13.