Xanthi survived a brief scare to secure their place in the Super League last night, as Olympiakos held onto second place, giving the Piraeuas club an advantage going into the Champions League play-offs although its game against Aris was marred by violence off the pitch.

At the bottom end of the table, it was a two-way battle between Xanthi and Levadiakos as the two sides fought to avoid being the third team that would be relegated from the top flight along with Panthrakikos and PAS Yiannina.

Xanthi went into their game against Iraklis on 32 points - one more than Levadikos. This meant that they a win in Thessaloniki would guarantee their survival. The visitors managed exactly that but had to survive some nervy moments.

It all started perfectly for Xanthi as they took the lead in just the fifth minute through Manolis Bertos. A second came 22 minutes later courtesy of Mugurel Buga. But just as it looked like an indifferent Iraklis would let Xanthi walk away with all three points, the home side struck back. Goals from Panayiotis Kone and Victoras Iacob in the 55^th and 60^th minute made it 2-2.

But the nervousness on the Xanthi bench only lasted for 10 minutes as Mauro Poi struck to make it 3-2. Just four minutes later, Nathan Ellington tucked away a penalty to secure Xanthi's survival.

The result at Larissa, where Levadiakos were playing meant that anything less than a win would have relegated Xanthi. The visitors won 2-1 thanks to goals from Serginho and Victor Agali but it proved to be too little too late for Levadiakos who will be playing their football in B Ethniki next season.

Olympiakos got the win they needed to stay in second and have a points advantage over PAOK, AEK and Aris going into the Champions League play-offs. The Reds won the game 2-1 thanks to a goal from Michael Zewlakow and a first-half stoppage time penalty from Enzo Maresca. Toni Calvo has equalized from the spot in 43^rd minute.

However, the result was overshadowed by a full-scale clash between Olympiakos supporters and riot police outside the Karaiskaki Stadium. Police used tear gas, clouds of which wafted into the stadium and forced the game to be held up for 10 minutes. It was reported that one supporter was taken to the hospital suffering from burns. A policeman was also injured.

Olympiakos finished the regular season on 64 points, two ahead of PAOK who thrashed Ergotelis 4-1 with all the home side's goals coming in the first half hour.

AEK finished in fourth on 53 points after beating Asteras Tripolis 2-0 thanks to a goal at the start of the first-half from Raffik Djebbour and another in the 11^th of 12 minutes of injury time from Pantelis Kafes. The game at the Olympic Stadium was also held up as supporters spilled onto the running track around the pitch after clashes with riot police in the stands. Earlier, AEK supporters had gathered in the team's former home of Nea Philadelphia to protest the way the club has been run in recent years.

Aris remain in fifth on 46 pointsand will start the Champions League play-offs where Aris, AEK, PAOK and Olympiakos will play each other home and away with zero points. AEK will have one point, PAOK three and Olympiakos four. The team that finishes top of this mini-league will go into the qualifying stages of the Champions League.

Panathinaikos, with the title already secure, finished the season on 70 points after beating already-relegated PAS Yiannina 1-0. Gabriel scored the only goal of the game in the 57^th minute.

In the day's other games, Atromitos beat bottom side Panthrakikos 2-1 and Kavala drew 1-1 with Panionios.