PAOK lined up against OFI with several absentees, having the unfit Despodov out of action, the injured duo of Ivanusec and Pavlenka , the suspended Ozdoev and the last-minute absence of Giannis Konstantelias due to illness.

Razvan Lucescu chose Tsiftsis between the posts, Kenny, Vogliacco, Michailides and Taylor in defense, Meite and Zafeiris in central midfield with Pelkas in front of them and Taison and Hatsidis flanking lone striker Giakoumakis.

PAOK started in determined mood and completely focused, imposing their rhythm from the first whistle. And while they may have been a bit slow to create final goal attempts, when they did, the hosts were cynical. In the 18th minute, Hatsidis fired in a good shot on goal, Christogeorgos parried it, but the encroaching Pelkas slotted home the rebound from a tight angle to make it 1-0.

In the 22nd minute, another problem came for Lucescu, as Meite was forced off with a knock, with Kamara taking his place. However, the home side’s plans did not change. With patience and a cool head, the players looked for the opportunity to threaten. Hatsidis did it again with a shot that did not find the target this time, and then Taison produced a dangerous cross that did not find a teammate. Then another breakthrough came in the 40th minute.

PAOK’s players built the attack extremely well, Hatsidis passing to Taison inside the penalty area. The Brazilian produced an excellent move and a perfect finish to make it 2-0. Three minutes later, another goal came and the match was over as a contest. Hatsidis once again took on the role of creator and distributed to Giakoumakis, who moved in behind the defense and clipped the ball smartly over the opposing goalkeeper and into the net with the ball also coming off an OFI defender sliding in to try and clear it off the line.

The pattern of the match did not change even at the start of the second half. PAOK threatened first through Michailidis, but the shot he attempted did not find the target. PAOK then managed the game, also having in mind Thursday’s upcoming match against Real Betis, as a result of which the chances in front of both goals were minimal for the rest of the game.

In the 67th minute, Tsiftsis saved a shot by Salcedo, in the 89th minute Sastre headed just wide, and those proved to be the last important moments in the game. The referee’s final whistle saw PAOK celebrate another important victory and they now turn their full attention to the two European games that follow.

Team lineups:

PAOK: Tsiftsis, Kenny, Vogliacco, Michailidis, Taylor, Zafeiris (87′ Jeremejeff), Meite (27′ Kamara), Hatsidis (87′ Sastre), Pelkas (71′ Bianco), Taison, Giakoumakis (71′ Mythou).

OFI: Christogeorgos, Kostoulas (46′ Christopoulos), Poungouras, Krizmanic, Marinakis, Hatzitheodoridis (69′ Kainourgiakis), Apostolakis (90′ Chnaris), Karachalios, Sengelia (82′ Neira), Salcedo, Iseka (69′ Theodosoulakis).