Yevhen Shakhov featured in the starting line-up and helped the team escape victorious from Nea Smyrni, providing the assist to Omar El Kaddouri for the winner. After the final whistle, the Ukrainian midfielder said the following:

“In the first half, we aimed to finish off the game quickly, trying to cut through their defence. However, in such encounters, one must be patient and try to control pace, in order to achieve the desired result.

Towards the end of the match, there were some complicated moments where we had to pressure high up the pitch, control second balls and not allow our opponents any easy passes. Chuba also helped us a lot in the air.

I believe that these past weeks were very good for us, despite their high level of difficulty, given that playing every three days is not that easy at the start of the season. The international break comes at the right time. It will help us clear our head and continue our fight for our objectives”.

Alexandros Paschalakis added:

“It was a hard-fought win against a very good side, very well organized. We did our duty and look ahead now.

“We couldn’t remain stuck in Wednesday’s game. There wasn’t any other way. We have to leave things behind, get over them quickly and move forward. The calendar is ruthless, we have big objectives and need to remain focused.

We must all hang in there and manage our forces well. Hopefully we will be the ones smiling in the end”.

As for Chuba Akpom, who was denied his first goal for PAOK by the referee and his assistant, he spoke about his team’s victory and that particular play:

We knew it would be hard. We started the league with a two-point deduction, however we managed to win a very important encounter. We prevailed in the game, but had to be cautious of Panionios’s counterattacks.

The coach analyzes the game and knows the particulars. He gave me entrance as he saw space behind Prijović. I am a “nine”, but can play wherever my coach believes I can be helpful for the team. He told me to search for gaps in Panionios’s defence and try to explore them.

The first thing Lucescu told us was to use the result against SL Benfica as our motive. We proved our mettle and strong character.

I saw some photos from the goal that was disallowed unfortunately. Every goal and every game of the team count. Such a goal could have decided the league. Such mistakes happen though. I would have preferred though to score my first goal for PAOK”.