Athens Get First Win in Three after Beating Volos

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AEK Athens were able to prepare for the game against the Olympiakos in style after a 3-2 success over Volos at home. This was the first victory in three matches for AEK Athens, who had previously drawn games against PAOK and Larissa. The game started with a disappointment for the home team, who conceded the 24th minute through Joaquin Torres. Athens, though, were level after just four minutes when Marko Livaja came up with the equaliser after capitalising on an assist from Petros Mandalos. From then, the game took a major turn in the direction of the home team because Juan Muñiz was sent off with a straight red card deep into injury time.

This helpedAthens make significant inroads into the game just after half-time. ManagerKostenoglou responded by making changes at half-time by bringing on the likes ofGiakoumakis. It took a while before the changes made a desired impact.Mandalos, who had previously assisted the equaliser, came up with a goal from the penalty spot in the 75th minute. The pressure ultimately started telling on the visitors, as Mandalos came up with another goal just three minutes later. Even thoughAthens looked like being in a great spot for a comfortable victory, Volos once again made things tough by scoring the second goal of the evening with seven minutes left.

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Pedro Martins Happy with Champions League Qualification

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Olympiakos was Pedro Martins claims that it is a remarkable achievement that the team was able to qualify for the Champions League where they will play alongside the likes of Bayern Munich and Tottenham. The Greek outfit were able to get past Krasnodar in the qualifying rounds. They have been able to set up a group stage along with Spurs and Bayern – two teams that are favourites to even win the competition. The incredible strength in this group may bring about some kind of a rotation policy, according to Martins.

The Greek football culture was heavily criticised earlier but it has progressed in leaps and bounds. Yet, it is rather difficult for the difficult to expect getting past the two games. Still, it has not prevented Pedro Martins from dreaming about reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League. At the very least, the club will be hoping to reach the Europa League by finishing third in the group. After having adapted well to Greek culture and football, Martins says that he has already been able to achieve the first objective of getting into the Champions League which is very healthy for the club and Greek football as a whole.

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AEK Athens Bring in Kostenoglou as New Coach

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AEK Athens shocked the football community by sacking manager Miguel Cardoso after just one match. The Portuguese manager took charge of the Greek outfit only on July 1st and he lasted just under two months at the team. He signed a two-year contract with the club, but the 2-1 defeat against Xanthi produced a shock response from the team. Club president Dimitris Melissanidis announced after the game thatCardoso’s reign at the club has come to an end. It is a major disaster for the Portuguese, who lasted only a short spell at his previous role.

Cardoso started his managerial career with Shakhtar Donetsk as the assistant boss. He became the manager of Portuguese outfit Rio Ave FC and he spent almost a year with the team – managing 42 games. This happens to be the longest he has spent at a club as a manager. From here,Cardoso made the switch to French outfit Nantes, where he lasted only eight matches. Then he jumped ship to Celta de Vigo where he spent only 15 games before coming to Greek football.Cardoso was brought in as the replacement for Manolo Jimenez.

Now, KinosKostenoglou has been appointed as the new coach of the club. It is understood that AEK Athens tried to bring in Gustavo Poyet, but a refusal from the Uruguayan has led them to switch their attention towardsKostenoglou. He has been in charge of teams likeAsterasTripolis,Anorthosis, Xanthi, andAris Thessaloniki. The team has done well to recover from the defeat against Xanthi, as they have been able to beat Trabzonspor in the Europa league before getting a comeback victory overAsterasTripolis in the domestic competition. The back-to-back victories have given the team a lot of confidence before they take onLamia just after the international break.

Former Arsenal defender speaks on the partnership of Sokratis and Mustafi

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Former Arsenal ladies defender Alex Scott has said that Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi have failed to work as a central defensive pair because of the regular tinkering done by manager Unai Emery. The duo featured during the recent away trip at Leicester City, where the Gunners were convincingly beaten 3-0 after they had Ainsley Maitland-Niles sent off in the first period.

Speaking after the game, Scott said that the recent downfall for the Gunners has come from individual mistakes, mostly from the heart of the backline. She added that it is a miracle that the north London side are still in the race to make the top four of the Premier League with two games to play.
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Sokratis Papastathopoulos has no plans of re-joining AEK Athens in the future

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Arsenal defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos has said that he has no plans of returning to the Greek league with AEK Athens in the future. The central defender joined the Gunners from Borussia Dortmund last summer and he has since played an integral part in their push to make the top four of the Premier League.

Speaking to Sport24, the Greece international admitted that the Gunners may not be his final club and he could push for a final payday elsewhere before retirement. He added that the United States and China are potential destinations and he has no plans of making an emotional comeback with Athens for the twilight of his career.
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BBC pundit praises Arsenal’s Greek centre-back after Manchester United triumph

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BBC pundit Garth Crooks has praised the performance of Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Laurent Koscielny in central defence during the 2-0 win over Manchester United in the Premier League. The Gunners had come into the game following a disappointing 3-1 Europa League loss at Rennes and this led to many considering them as underdogs for the Red Devils clash.

However, the north London side started on the front foot with Granit Xhaka scoring for them in the opening 15 minutes and they managed to hold onto the lead for the interval with some luck. Following the break, the Gunners were much more assured with their defensive showing starting from the goalkeeper and Crooks had special praise for the centre-back pairing of Sokratis and Koscielny.
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