Panathinaikos finished the first round of the season in first place with an absolute 5/5. It is four points above the second PAOK. In other words, he has made sure that even with a loss, even with a loss in Toumba, he remains first.

In 5 games he covered 5 of the 22 difference points

Jovanovic himself admitted after defeating PAS that in theory his team had an easy schedule. However, the truth is that he already has a +3 in the same regular-season games compared to last year. Moreover, Olympiakos have already collected 7 of the 22 points that Olympiakos had behind them last season. For such a short time, Panathinaikos has got off to a very good start.

It goes without saying that they went into the season with a serious advantage, which I must repeat in any relevant text, that they are the only team that this season is a continuation of the previous one. He took advantage of this advantage and took over the lead at the start of the championship.

They know very well that this year is their chance

Personalities have joined the Panathinaikos squad. Footballers who, given the image of the team, the image of the others and also the existing prospects for improvement, have set the bar high in the dressing room.

As an organization, Panathinaikos is doing well and not shouting about it, but everyone in the team understood that they have a golden opportunity to win this year’s championship.

The game in Toumba is important

The Toumba game is important as this lead must not be thrown away. They are more ready as a team than PAOK and if they get a result, especially if they go with the doubles, they will automatically rise into everyone’s consciousness as the number 1 title favourite.

Whatever he accomplishes will be another step forward in his own fight to close last year’s gap separating him from the top of the standings.

The work of the coaching staff puts the players in the best possible condition

Panathinaikos has a strong foundation that comes from the good work Jovanovic has done in the squad and a perspective that has come from the way he uses the players acquired and his entire squad as a whole.

I mentioned Panathinaikos’ great weapon earlier in the season that gave him the lead in my foreword. However, the weapon that Jovanovic and the technical team are working on to accompany the team throughout the season is the management of his players, which puts them in the best possible shape.

Be careful. Olympiacos have a problem in defence. A look at the names of the stoppers who competed at the start of the season proves that the daily work makes the difference. So there is a problem in central defence, the team that used Manolas, which is a thing of the past, Ba, Cise, Papastathopoulos.

The team, which has featured Sarlia’s centre-back duo Pougoura in recent games, has a weapon in central defence. How is that possible? The answer is simple and he knows it. What makes the difference is the situation in which the footballers find themselves.

The Panathinaikos players, whom Jovanovic trusts as starters, can and will play above their covers. At this point, no other manager in our league has achieved anything similar, especially at Olympiakos, who are always the big favorites for the home scepters and have played far below their average at Corberan.

Magnusson, Schenkefeld are waiting in the seats

This fact also creates conditions for even greater improvements. Let’s not forget that Magnuson Schenkefeld, capable of increasing the quality of Panathinaikos even more, is waiting to enter the courts.

Jovanovic has shown with the way he has worked and managed the squad in the first five games that he has faith in those who work with him and will use anyone he feels can help in his best individual condition.

At Jovanovic you only play when you are at 100%

There’s no greater motivation to work than knowing that if you’re good, your trainer won’t be afraid to throw you into the fray.

Most coaches, if they had their two main stoppers in the derby with AEK at 50%, at least one of them would do anything to use it. But Jovanovic didn’t run, didn’t hurry and went with the two stoppers who are at 100% and the result justified him.

But the same thing happened throughout all of their choices. With PAS, he kept Huancar on the bench despite getting the OK for Ganea from the doctors, ignoring the entire foursome coming on in defence.

We also saw Corberan in a last-ditch effort to stay with the team last Sunday, launching Hames and using Bakabu without having trained well with the team. Jovanovic had to work with Bernard for two and a half weeks to give him 12 minutes and 3 ½ to give him a half.

It’s waiting for many to make a difference

Panathinaikos are capitalizing on Aitor’s amazing situation for this season’s start. But there are still plenty of good footballers in midfield and with Jovanovic’s work it seems certain that the time will come when they will find themselves in an individual situation that will allow them to make a big difference.

Panathinaikos is first and has a lot to look forward to. After the break we will see him play with his main defense duo, Bernard will appear more and more, whose entry with PAS in the second half sweetened the team’s game.

They are also waiting for Panathinaikos Sporar to finally reveal that Verbic is loosening up what he already achieved with Palasios last year by working in training.

In other words, if we look at Panathinaikos’ image in the first five games, we’re talking about the team that’s in great shape and with the way he manages the squad, Jovanovic has a lot of room for improvement. With this reality, with these weapons, after 13 years, Panathinaikos is ready to fight to win the championship.