PAOK Saloniki, Club Brugge's opponent in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Conference League, won the topper at Panathinaikos' field 2-3.
Coach Razvan Lucescu had old acquaintance Ally Samatta (ex-Genk and Antwerp) start on the bench. Meite, another old acquaintance from the Belgian league (ex-Zulte Waregem) was allowed to start in midfield. PAOK started superbly: already in the second minute, Kiril Despodov managed to shake the nets. PAOK then left the ball to Panathinaikos. Via Bernard, the home team equalized on the half hour, but even before halftime Brandon Thomas was able to put the visitors back in the lead after an assist from Thomas Murg.
During the second half, Panathinaikos did put pressure on PAOK's goal, but despite frequent possession of the ball, they failed to level the boards again. Instead, it was PAOK that doubled the lead through a penalty goal by Stefan Schwab. Deep into injury time, Bernard did manage his second goal after a pass from Jeremejeff.
PAOK remains on the trail of leaders AEK Athens thanks to this win. In Greece, playoffs are also being played, albeit without a draw. PAOK had finished the regular league as the leader with 60 points, with one point more than first pursuer AEK Athens. On the first match day, however, PAOK went down on their own field against Aris. As a result, AEK took over the lead. It won the topper against Olympiakos itself this weekend and counts two points ahead of PAOK. (EV)
PAOK: Kotarski, Otto (77' Vierinha), Kedziora (46' Näsberg), Koulierakis, Soares, Meite, Schwab, Despodov (61' Zivkovic), Murg (61' Konstantelias), Taison, Thomas (72' Samatta).
Goals: 2' Despodov (0-1), 29' Bernard (1-1), 37' Thomas (1-2), 89' Schwab (penalty, 1-3),93' Bernard (2-3).