Dominant but missing a goal
As Razvan Lucescu said at the end of the match, PAOK made Olympiacos look like one of the Super League minnows at the Toumba, but the lack of a cutting edge to finish off chances meant the Double-headed Eagle could not celebrate three points, with the final 0-0 scoreline leaving only the visitors satisfied.
The Toumba was full. The atmosphere was raucous, and PAOK started with a glint in their collective eye. Razvan Lucescu’s men were brimming with passion and confidence, and they reduced Olympiacos to a spectator role for most of the match. The match was a performance with only one team on show.
Narey hit the crossbar in the first minute, then a great save from Paschalakis in the second minute thwarted A.Zivkovic , and the visiting ‘keeper again denied Konstantelias in the fifth minute. Then came another stop from a shot by Oliveira in the ninth minute, followed by another shot by Koulierakis in the 17th minute which Paschalakis was again on hand to block.
The only threatening moment for Olympiacos was a speculative effort from distance from James Rodríguez that hit the crossbar. After the powerful openingby the hosts, the visitors managed to balance things out somewhat, but in no way to threaten Kotarski , with PAOK still having another three good chances before the half-time break with Koulierakis, Oliveira and Dantas all going close.
The Double-headed Eagle began the second half strongly as well. The hosts threatened in the 49th minute through Konstantelias , had a triple chance after 54 minutes, but neither Konstantelias , Oliveira or Douglas could put the ball in the net.
Olympiacos boss Michel began to make changes after seeing PAOK constantly threaten his team’s goal, with the Spanish coach switching four defensive players. Lucescu responded by bringing Brandon Thomas on alongside Nelson Oliveira.
PAOK continued to press for the goal until the last second, but a combination of poor decisions with final passes and a lack of composure denied them what would have been a deserved victory.
Clearly, nothing was decided today, with the race for the championship still a long way off.
The next challenge for PAOK is the first leg of the Greep Cup semi-final tie against Lamia on Thursday (09.02) at the «Athanassios Diakos».
Team lineups:
PAOK: Kotarski, Sastre, Ingason, Koulierakis (Nasberg 69′), Rafa Soares, Augusto, Dantas (Schwab 72′), Narey, A. Zivkovic (Brandon 71′), Konstantelias (Bisesvar 91′), Oliveira.
Olympiacos: Paschalakis, Rodinei, Papastathopoulos, Doi, Reabchiuk, Huang, M’Vila, Biel (Ramon 80′), Masouras (Kanos 61′), James Rodriguez (Samassekou 80′), Bakabou (El Arabi 74′).
