In the early stages of the match, PAOK tried to spring a surprise by pushing forward, with Panathinaikos gradually gaining a foothold and balancing out the game as the first half wore on.

Razvan Lucescu’s team found them themselves in front in the 19th minute. After a brilliant counter-attack, A.Zivkovic centered the ball for Konstantelias, whose back-heel was saved by Brignoli, only for the oncoming Brandon to send the rebound into the back of the net for 1-0 to the visitors.

Panathinaikos tried to respond in the 29th minute through Kotsiras, but Kotarski had the answer and saved his efforts. In the end, however, the home team equalized for the first time in the 32nd minute. Palacios, after a long period of sustained pressure, was in the right place and the right time to score with a well-placed shot to make it 1-1.

Up until half-time, it was Panathinaikos who put the pressure on, pinning PAOK back in their own half, but the Double-headed Eagle defensive line was able to withstand the pressure and the teams went into the tunnel at half-time at 1-1.

In the second half, the pattern of the match did not change, with PAOK looking more dangerous on the counter-attack. In the 55th minute, Panathinaikos threatened via Palacios, while two minutes later Brandon hit the post with an excellent shot from outside the penalty area.

A minute later the balance of the match changed again. With a magical counter-attack, PAOK managed to take the lead again. Taison carried the ball forward with one of his trademark forward thrusts, and at the right moment he offloaded the ball to A. Zivkovic, who produced an improbable shot that beat the Panathinaikos goalkeeper Brignoli and made it 2-1 to PAOK in the 58th minute.

From there onwards, PAOK looked in control of the match, and Panathinaikos could not seem to create clear opportunities. However, as the clock ran down and the home side got more desperate, PAOK let their guard slip in the last seconds and allowed Geremeyev to head home to make it 2-2 – a result which deprived PAOK of a three-point haul that they were holding in their hands.

Team lineups:

Panathinaikos: Brignioli, Kotsiras, Jedvaj, Schenkefeld, Juankar (82′ Mladenovic), Djuricic (70′ Verbic), Arao, Cerin (77′ Vilenha), Palacios (70′ Mancini), Ioannidis (82′ Geremejev), Bernard.

PAOK: Kotarski, Kenziora, Ekong, Koulierakis, Baba, Tsingaras (61′ Ozdoev), Schwab (71′ Meite), A.Zivkovic, Konstantelias (62′ Despodov), Taison (84′ Murg), Thomas (72′ Samatta).