In football the best medicine after any setback is matches and victories. PAOK returned to the pitch for competitive action wanting to leave the past behind and make a new start.

Razvan Lucescu threw Koulierakis and Tsaousis into the battle, as well as Brandon Thomas to lead the attack, and PAOK started the match with plenty of desire and appetite, taking control of the possession, pinning Panetolikos in their own half and creating changes.

In their first notable opportunity, PAOK managed to go in front. Dantas, Lyratzis and Narey combined beautifully, the latter squaring the ball across the penalty for Thomas to make it 1-0 from close range after just seventh minute.

The Double-headed Eagle had full control and chalked up as much as 80% possession, while there were a plethora of great opportunities that Thomas, Ingason, Kurtic and Koulierakis all failed to convert, with opposition goalkeeper Giannis Anestis producing a great performance.

In the second half, the tempo of the match dropped noticeably. PAOK had a good moment in the first minute of the half, Panetolikos missed their only chance in the 57th minute with Kotarski reacting correctly to save, while Lucescu’s team also then came very close to scoring in the 70th minute with Douglas shooting from a difficult angle without finding the target.

Lyratzis tried a powerful shot in the 74th minute, but he was blocked by Anestis, before Douglas contrived to miss a great opportunity to seal the three points in the 88th minute. A minute later, Panetolikos tried to take advantage of a lapse in the black and white defense, but Kotarski came to the rescue.

The score did not change until the last whistle and PAOK took all three points and started their journey in this year’s Super League in winning form.

Team lineups:

PAOK (Razvan Lucescu): Kotarski, Lyratzis (80′ Sastre), Ingason, Koulierakis, Tsaousis, Augusto, Kurtic, Narey (81′ Konstantelias), Dantas (71′ Soares), Biseswar (65′ El Kaddouri), Thomas (71 ‘ Oliveira).

Panaitolikos (Giannis Anastasiou): Anestis, Apostolakis, Cornelius, Larson, Houhoumis, Mladen (81′ Varone), Flores, Duarte (81′ Xenitidis), Dias (71′ Sengelia), Chatzitheodoridis (57′ Dago), Karelis (81′ Joao Pedro).