Ernesto Valverde’s Olympiacos FC remain in cruise control for the Greek Super League title after a convincing 3-0 defeat of Ergotelis FC at the Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium on Sunday. The hosts, who were forced to face Ergotelis with no fans as a result of the scenes of violence against Panathinaikos last month, found the scoreboard through three different scorers.
The win means Olympiacos moves within two wins of clinching their 38th Greek Championship. Ergotelis, meanwhile, lost ground on their chase for a play-off spot as the Canaries now sit seven points off fifth place.
The visiting side were the better of the two outfits in the first forty-five minutes but Sergio Leal missed a golden opportunity to give Ergotelis a shock lead in the port city when his penalty attempt was stopped by Urko Pardo after Jaouad Zairi brought down Maris Verpakovskis inside the Olympiacos box.
The league leaders would make Nikos Karageorgiou’s side pay for their wasteful first half just four minutes after the restart. A corner-kick flashed in from the left side of the pitch ultimately found Olof Mellberg, whose effort ricocheted off team-mate Francois Modesto - the latter scoring his first goal since arriving at Olympiacos in the summer.
Another summer signing added his name to the scoresheet just before the hour mark with Marko Pantelic firing a fine effort past Ioseif Daskalakis to increase his side’s lead to 2-0 on 58 minutes.
Less than 10 minutes later it was 3-0 as Kevin Mirallas added to his team-leading tally with a picture-perfect finish into the far corner past Daskalakis. The Belgian striker replicated his exploits from last weekend in Nea Smyrni as he squeezed an effort inside the far post to put the game out of reach.
The win means Olympiacos sit 13 points up on rivals Panathinaikos, and now find themselves three wins away from setting a league record for victories. Ergotelis are now winless in their laast two outings since their monumental defeat of FC Kavala on 12 February. The Cretan club faces PAOK FC midweek in a make-up match that takes place at the Toumba Stadium, the same venue Olympiacos visit on the weekend for another edition of one of Greece’s most fierce derbies.
Olympiacos FC 3-0 Ergotelis FC
Modesto 49’, Pantelic 58’, Mirallas 65’
Olympiacos FC (Ernesto Valverde): Pardo, Maniatis, A. Papadopoulos (79’ Hurtado), Mellberg, Holebas, Dudu (46’ Ibagaza), Modesto, Zairi (82’ Fetfatzidis), Rommedahl, Mirallas, Pantelic.
