The summer was different. Michalis Grigoriou and his staff maintained their positions. Changes in the squad were minimal. The main spine of the team and its chemistry remained intact, and the many positive displays in the 2019-20 season left hope that something good could be set up in Larissa.

The optimism was there, the pre-season preparations went well, the players who came in on paper raised the quality of the squad, and Larissa were looking up at the top end of the table with their eye on the European positions.

In practice, however, nothing went right. The first 12 games of the season yielded just six points for the Thessaly club. The team’s performances led much to be desired, and… normality resumed. Grigoriou left, in came Giannis Tatsis in his place, several players left, while several new faces came in. In general Larissa began to resemble the old Larissa of previous years, which found itself continuously in the headlines for the wrong reasons.

Now things are difficult. Larissa are only above Lamia, which have two points, but they have also played two games less, so Larissa are in serious danger of being sent to the bottom of the standings, a position which leads to automatic relegation.

The games coming up against PAOK, PAS Giannina and Panathinaikos are expected to decide a lot in terms of their future this season.

The squad has good players in all positions, but the team can not seem to find balance out on the pitch, with only eight goals scored and 23 conceded – statistics which aptly reflect the way the team is playing.

Pinakas is the team’s top scorer with five goals, while only three more players have scored, and Philippe and Torje both have two assists each.