One more 90 minutes to go
PAOK achieved their goal in stlye, winning a third consecutive derby at the Toumba, while AEK were defeated at the Georgios Karaiskakis. It all means that now the destination of the league title is in the Double-headed Eagle’s players’ hands as they look to win the coveted trophy.
This latest Toumba derby was full of emotion. PAOK led by two goals, Panathinaikos got themselves back into the match, but the Double-headed Eagle produced a final burst late on to take the victory 4-1 and celebrated the most valuable three points of the season, until the next one.
Razvan Lucescu made four changes to his side from Sunday’s game against Olympiacos, with Ozdoev, Otto, Despodov and Murg all starting, with the home side starting strongly, hitting the post after just two minutes from Brandon’s effort.
PAOK continued to press and close down Panathinaikos quickly whenever they tried to get out of their own half, but did not manage to threaten. Panathinaikos managed to balance the game more around the 15th minute mark, but without managing to make a threatening final attempt on Kotarski’s goal. PAOK, on the other hand, were then forced to quickly make their first change, with Konstantelias taking the place of the injured Murg .
Mr.Breeze, as soon as he came on, missed a great chance, with Lodygin stopping his shot after Despodov had crossed. PAOK protested for a penalty when the ball hit Juankar’s hand, but the referee and VAR did not agree.
In the 37th minute came the most important moment of the first half. Perez, in his attempt to clear, sent the ball to Konstantelias , who found Taison with a nie assist for the Brazilian to score with an excellent placed effort to make it it 1-0.
PAOK entered the pitch in the second half with the same mentality and dominated proceedings. In the 61st minute, Baba hit the post with an excellent shot, while Kotarski was called to make a save a minute later from Sporar.
In the 72nd minute, Jedvai brought down Samatta in the penalty area, the referee pointed to the penalty spot and Andrija Živkovic, who had come off the bench, was on target from 12 yards to make it 2-0.
In the 77th minute, Panathinaikos reduced the deficit to 2-1, when Mladenovic crossed and Geremeyev beat Kotarski with a header, sending the ball into the back of the net.
The goal gave Panathinaikos a boost, but Lucescu restored the balance in the match with his movements from the bench. The entry of Schwab and Vieirinha changed the pattern of the match drastically and fate seemed to want the club captain to put his stamp on the game.
The captain made it 3-1 in the 89th minute with an incredible finish, assisted by A. Živković, while four minutes later Zile rounded off the scoring to make the final score 4-1.
And now… Kleanthis Vikelidis. On Sunday, PAOK play the last game of the season and with a win they will be crowned champions of Greece for the 2023-24 season.
Team lineups:
PAOK: Kotarski, Baba, Koulierakis, Kedziora, Otto, Meite, Ozdoev (Schwab 81′), Murg (Konstantelias 18′), Taison (A.Zivkovic 66′), Despodov (Vierinha 81′). Brandon (Samatta 66′).
Panathinaikos: Lodygin, Juankar (Vagiannidis 66′), Perez, Jedvai, Bakasetas, Cerin (Limnios 88′), Arao, Kotsiras, Mancini (Mladenovic 66′), Bernard (Vilena 85′), Sporar. (Geremeev 68′).