AEK Athens are already champions. Have been for two weeks. The trophy is theirs, the title is secure, the celebrations happened at the OPAP Arena a fortnight ago when João Mário stuck one in at 90+4 against Panathinaikos and the whole ground went mad. So Tuesday’s 0-0 draw with Aris Thessaloniki in the Super League Championship playoff round carries a very different kind of weight than it would have done three weeks ago. For AEK it was one of those final-matches-of-the-season situations — the job done, nothing left to prove, the players going through the motions in various degrees. For Aris, though, it was something else entirely.
Aris came to the OPAP Arena knowing that the 5-8 playoff picture is still not fully settled. The Thessaloniki side have been one of the more pleasant stories of that mini-table — three wins in a row before Tuesday, climbing to the kind of position where European qualification for next season is genuinely in sight. Not certain. Not done. But close enough to feel. A point at the home of the champions, even against a team with nothing riding on the result, is still a point. And given that all the other results around them matter too, you take it.
The match itself was never going to be a classic. That much was clear before a ball was kicked. Marko Nikolić rotated. Heavily. The AEK squad that started at the OPAP Arena looked significantly different to the eleven that has been carrying the title charge since September — younger players, fringe squad members, the kind of Tuesday lineup that coaches put out when the hard work is done and the priority is keeping key players fresh or rested. Luka Jovic, who has had a phenomenal season by any measure — 21 goals across all competitions, the kind of numbers that get a striker noticed across Europe — was not in from the start.
Aris lined up with the same commitment and organisation that has characterised their playoff run. Michalis Grigoriou’s side have been excellent since the 5-8 group started, building on the Conference League qualifying experience from earlier in the season and carrying a confidence that the first-phase results had somewhat masked. Christian Kouamé has been the key figure — six goals in the playoff round alone, the Ivory Coast forward running at defenders, creating and converting with a frequency that has turned him from a reliable option into Aris’ most important attacking presence.
Kouamé was sharp from the start on Tuesday. Two early runs that the AEK defence read correctly. A touch inside the area in the 18th minute that should have led to a shot but didn’t quite, the angle closing too quickly. The crowd at the OPAP Arena — not a huge attendance for this one, the title party already thrown — gave polite applause when both sides created something.
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AEK had their moments too. The young midfielder Kaloskamis, who has been given more opportunities since the title was secured, drove a low shot at Athanasiadis in the Aris goal around the half-hour mark that the goalkeeper dealt with comfortably. There was a corner in the 38th minute that caused some confusion in the Aris box before being hacked clear. Nothing that really threatened the net. Both sides went in at halftime 0-0 and that was probably right.
Second half told a similar story. AEK had the ball more. Aris had the better shape and the more coherent defensive structure. Nikolić’s rotated squad moved the ball without the urgency that had defined the club’s title run — understandably so. The result did not matter to AEK in any meaningful competitive sense, and footballers, whatever their professionalism, find it hard to manufacture intensity when the job is already done.
Aris worked hard. They pressed higher in the second period, tried to use the spaces that opened when the home side’s shape loosened. Monchu was lively in midfield and Jensen found some good positions out wide. But Strakosha, even in a low-stakes game, was alert when called upon — twice coming out to claim crosses before they caused trouble, once making a low save that preserved the clean sheet.
No goals. Full time 0-0.
For AEK, it is another clean sheet to add to a season full of them — 27 games without conceding across 55 matches in all competitions. The defensive record has been the foundation under everything Nikolić built this year. The title speaks for itself. Fourteen Greek championships now. First under the Iliopoulos ownership. The trophy celebration can continue without the distraction of any competitive concern.
For Aris, a point at the champions’ ground after the title has been won is less impressive than it sounds, but the important thing is they did not lose. The 5-8 playoff standings are tight at the top — Levadiakos have been excellent and Aris are chasing. There is still a round or two remaining in the mini-table, and the Conference League qualifying place that goes to the winner is the real prize. Aris are fighting for it.
They will be back at the Kleanthis Vikelidis next round in front of their own fans. Three consecutive wins before Tuesday gave Grigoriou’s side the belief that they can win this mini-league. One draw away at the champions does not change that. The fight continues.
The full Super League Greece Championship playoff standings, results, and fixtures are available at the official Super League Greece website at superleague.gr.
Full-time: AEK Athens 0-0 Aris Thessaloniki. OPAP Arena, Nea Filadelfia, Athens. Super League Greece Championship Playoff, 26 May 2026. AEK Athens confirmed champions on 70+ points. Aris Thessaloniki competing for the 5-8 playoff title and Conference League qualification.
