AEL 1-2 Omonoia Aradippou Omonoia Aradippou claimed an important victory over AEL to move up to seventh place in the table, overtaking the Limassol side and creating more breathing room above the relegation zone. AEL started the match brightly and threatened early through Natel, but Aradippou gradually grew into the game and took control. Their pressure paid off in the 23rd minute when Pontikos met a corner from Mouadib and finished from close range. AEL almost responded immediately, with Conceição striking the post, but the hosts defended well and restricted Martins’ side to very little for the remainder of the half. After the break, Aradippou continued to look the more dangerous team and created several chances early in the second half. AEL improved later in the game after a series of substitutions and eventually found an equaliser through Forestieri. However, the response from Marinos Satsias’ side was immediate, as Georgiou restored the lead just two minutes later after another delivery from Mouadib. Akritas 0-4 Pafos Pafos recorded a comfortable victory against Akritas Chlorakas, continuing their strong run of form and moving above AEK into third place with 51 points while awaiting the remaining results of the matchday. The visitors imposed themselves on the game early and gradually took control, with Correia opening the scoring before Sunjic added a second to give Pafos a firm grip on the match. Any hopes of a comeback for Akritas faded in the second half as an own goal by Perntreou extended the lead, before Bruno completed the rout with a fourth. Akritas struggled to create meaningful chances throughout the match and remain in 11th place on 26 points, while Pafos left Chlorakas with a convincing win and another important step in their push near the top of the table. Anorthosis 1-1 Apollon Anorthosis and Apollon faced off at the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium in a match played with the kind of urgency you’d expect from two teams who both needed the points, albeit for entirely different reasons. The first half was competitive and tense, with neither side giving much away until Apollon struck just before the break. In the 44th minute, Marques found the net to give the Limassol side the lead and a psychological edge heading into half-time. Anorthosis responded almost immediately after the restart. Just four minutes into the second half, Ilia equalised to bring the hosts back into the game and reset the contest. Both teams had spells where they threatened to take control, but neither managed to find the decisive second goal, leaving the match to end 1-1 and the points shared. Omonoia 5-0 Olympiakos Omonoia casually dismantled Olympiakos 5–0 at the GSP, treating the final matchday of the first phase less like a competitive football game and more like a training exercise with spectators. It took two minutes for Andreou to open the scoring, which was roughly the moment Olympiakos realised it might be a long evening. Omonia continued to stroll through the defence, with Ewandro making it 2–0 in the 24th minute before Tanković finished off a move set up by Mmaee to make it three by the half-hour mark. If anyone thought the second half might offer mercy, they clearly haven’t watched Berg’s Omonoia. Within minutes of the restart Ewandro poked in a rebound for 4–0, before turning provider two minutes later for Mmaee to calmly slot home the fifth. After that the game drifted into the football equivalent of admin work, with Omonoia rotating players and saving energy. The only real takeaway: Omonoia finish the phase top of the table and eight points clear of Apollon, while Olympiakos probably wished the whistle had gone sometime around the third goal. Ethnikos 0-2 AEK AEK Larnaca secured a hard-fought 2–0 victory over Ethnikos Achna at the Dasaki Stadium, with both goals arriving in the second half. After a competitive first half in which AEK struck the woodwork twice and created the better chances, the game’s turning point came in stoppage time before the break when Ethnikos striker Andereggen received a second yellow card and was sent off for sarcastically applauding the referee’s assistant. With the numerical advantage after the restart, AEK increased the pressure and eventually broke the deadlock in the 70th minute when Ivanovic cut inside and finished clinically. Ten minutes later Milicevic sealed the win from the penalty spot after Mudrazija was fouled. Krasava 4-0 Paralimni Krasava recorded an emphatic 4–0 victory over Paralimni in an important match at the bottom end of the table, earning a crucial boost in the fight to avoid relegation. The hosts took the lead in the 13th minute through Denis Cheryshev from the penalty spot and controlled the tempo for the remainder of the first half. In the second half Krasava turned their dominance into goals. De Lucas made it 2–0 in the 54th minute, Ankeye added a third in the 72nd, and Pankov sealed the victory ten minutes later. The result gives ENY valuable breathing space in the standings, while Paralimni remain rooted to the bottom of the table. The regular phase of the Cyprus First Division has concluded after 26 matches, and the league now splits into two groups for the final stage of the season. At the top, Omonoia finished first with 61 points, eight clear of the chasing pack after an impressive campaign that produced 63 goals and just 17 conceded. AEK Larnaca and Apollon both ended on 53 points, with AEK taking second place on goal difference, while Pafos sit just two points behind on 51. APOEL (45) and Aris Limassol (43) complete the top six and will join them in the championship group. The league will now split. Group A (positions 1–6) will play a further 10 matches in a home-and-away mini-league, deciding the title and the European places. The champions will enter the UEFA Champions League qualifiers, while second and third place will qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League, with fourth potentially securing a European place depending on the Cyprus Cup outcome. The remaining teams enter Group B (positions 7–14), where Omonoia Aradippou, AEL, Anorthosis, Krasava, Olympiakos, Akritas Chlorakas, Ethnikos Achna and Paralimni will battle to avoid relegation. In this phase the teams will play each other once, meaning every match becomes critical. Paralimni are already relegated, sitting bottom with just one point and a goal difference of −62. That leaves two remaining relegation places still to be decided in what promises to be a tense survival battle over the final rounds. Group A schedule: Matchday 1 Aris Limassol vs OmonoiaAEK Larnaca vs APOELPafos vs Apollon Matchday 2 APOEL vs Aris LimassolOmonoia vs PafosApollon vs AEK Larnaca Matchday 3 Aris Limassol vs PafosAEK Larnaca vs OmonoiaAPOEL vs Apollon Matchday 4 Omonoia vs APOELPafos vs AEK LarnacaAris Limassol vs Apollon Matchday 5 Apollon vs OmonoiaAEK Larnaca vs Aris LimassolAPOEL vs Pafos Matchday 6 Omonoia vs Aris LimassolAPOEL vs AEK LarnacaApollon vs Pafos Matchday 7 Aris Limassol vs APOELPafos vs OmonoiaAEK Larnaca vs Apollon Matchday 8 Pafos vs Aris LimassolOmonoia vs AEK LarnacaApollon vs APOEL Matchday 9 APOEL vs OmonoiaAEK Larnaca vs PafosApollon vs Aris Limassol Matchday 10 Omonoia vs ApollonAris Limassol vs AEK LarnacaPafos vs APOEL Group B schedule: Matchday 1 Omonoia Aradippou vs ParalimniAEL vs Ethnikos AchnaAnorthosis vs Akritas ChlorakasKrasava vs Olympiakos Matchday 2 Paralimni vs OlympiakosAkritas Chlorakas vs KrasavaEthnikos Achna vs AnorthosisOmonoia Aradippou vs AEL Matchday 3 AEL vs ParalimniAnorthosis vs Omonoia AradippouKrasava vs Ethnikos AchnaOlympiakos vs Akritas Chlorakas Matchday 4 Paralimni vs Akritas ChlorakasEthnikos Achna vs OlympiakosOmonoia Aradippou vs KrasavaAEL vs Anorthosis Matchday 5 Anorthosis vs ParalimniKrasava vs AELOlympiakos vs Omonoia AradippouAkritas Chlorakas vs Ethnikos Achna Matchday 6 Paralimni vs Ethnikos AchnaOmonoia Aradippou vs Akritas ChlorakasAEL vs OlympiakosAnorthosis vs Krasava Matchday 7 Krasava vs ParalimniOlympiakos vs AnorthosisAkritas Chlorakas vs AELEthnikos Achna vs Omonoia Aradippou Post navigation Cyprus League: Week 25 Roundup Cyprus League: Play Offs And Play Outs, Round 1 Review