Tasos Bakasetas scored a thumping header late on to rescue a point for AEK as Sunday’s Athens derby showdown with Olympiacos ended in a 1-1 draw at the Olympic Stadium.

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AEK had fallen behind to a superb Kostas Fortounis strike just before the hour mark after a goalless first half in which both teams hit the woodwork.

Marinos Ouzounidis’ men never gave up though and their efforts were rewarded with Bakasetas’ powerful header from a precise right-wing cross by Rodrigo Galo.

Substitute Giannis Fetfatzidis missed a golden chance to win it for Olympiacos with the last kick of the game, blazing his close-range effort over with only AEK goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas to beat.

In the end a draw was a fair result following a pulsating 90 minutes of high octane football from both teams as they sought to bounce back from European disappointments and assert their authority on the SuperLeague title race.

As a result of the draw, PAOK and Atromitos remain out in front at the top of the table with 16 points apiece, while AEK and Olympiacos are three points behind.

THE MATCH

AEK starting XI: Barkas, Bakakis, Lambropoulos, Chygrynskiy, Hult, Simoes, Galanopoulos, Galo, Klonaridis, Bakasetas, Livaja

OLY starting XI: Gianniotis, Omar, Meriah, Vukovic, Tsimikas, Guillerme, Camara, Fortounis, Lazaros, Podence, Hassan

Olympiacos arrived at the OAKA in the middle of their first patch of dodgy form under new boss Pedro Martins, having lost to PAOK last time out and also suffering a 3-1 defeat to AC Milan at the San Siro in the Europa League.

AEK, eager to bounce back from their mid-week 3-2 defeat to Benfica in the Champions League, made a lively start, enjoying the lion’s share of possession and creating several chances in an absorbing first half.

Croatian striker Marko Livaja was first to test the reflexes of Olympiacos goalkeeper Andrea Gianniotis’ with an early shot, and Tasos Bakasetas then seemed to be at the epicentre of the Kitrinomavri’s play.

The Greek international saw a shot saved by Gianniotis from distance as a warning shot, before then hitting the post with a deflected shot after 22 minutes.

Olympiacos’ main threat came from Kostas Fortounis’ probing, and it was the Olympiacos’ man who played in Ahmed Hassan just before half-time only for the Egyptian striker to hit Vasilis Barkas’ right post.

Olympiacos came out for the second half in determined mood and won a dangerous free-kick on the edge of the AEK box. Lazaros Christdoulopoulos, the man who tormented Olympiacos last season, stepped up to take it but his effort hit the wall.

The visitors continued to probe in a promising spell, and the breakthrough came after 58 minutes through Fortounis. The Greece playmaker was given far too much space and time by AEK midfielder Andre Simoes and picked his spot with a superb shot from distance which beat Barkas.

AEK responded immediately with a flurry of attacks trying to get in behind down the flanks, but Olympiacos looked more confident and were able to keep their shape as the home side’s play became more desperate.

There was a clear danger of AEK conceding on the counter attack and they almost did just that in the 75th minute when Hassan headed goalwards, but Varkas was equal to it and parried the ball to safety.

Next it was AEK’s turn to go close with 10 minutes left when Spanish midfielder Erik Moran side-footed just wide from the edge of the Olympiacos box when he should have hit the target.

The hosts did not give up and finally had reason to cheer with the equaliser in the last minute when Rodrigo Galo’s cross was headed home in emphatic style by Bakasetas.



HIGHLIGHTS: AEK - OLYMPIACOS