Goalless derby draw at the Toumba
Matchday 21 of the 2025-26 Stoiximan Super League came and went without any changes in the standings, as all three title contenders earned one point each. PAOK were held to a goalless draw at their Toumba Stadium home with AEK, and the three-point gap was maintained, with PAOK, however, also having one game in hand.
PAOK lined up on the Toumba Stadium pitch without Ivanusec, Pelkas, Konstantelias and Despodov , with Pavlenka selected betweeb the posts, Baba, Michailidis, Kedziora and Kenny in defence, a midfield duo of Meite and Zafeiris , Taison in front of them, A. Zivkovic and Hatsidis on the wings and Giakoumakis spearheading the attack.
PAOK started the game strongly and took control of the match from the first few minutes, making it very difficult for AEK to develop their play from the defensive zones with some high intensity pressing. In the seventh minute, Mukudi managed to block a run from Zafeiris , while in the eighth minute, Marin attempted a shot from distance for AEK without finding the target.
In the 10th minute, PAOK had a great chance to take the lead, with Zafeiris being fouled by Mukudi inside the penalty area, Osmers pointing to the penalty spot, but Strakosha saving Giakoumakis ‘ effort from 12 yards down low to his left.
After the penalty miss, AEK tried to gain ground on the pitch and become threatening, but PAOK’s defense worked flawlessly, with the only chance for the visitors in the first half coming from a shot by Koita in the 40th minute that bounced off Pavlenka’s crossbar and over to safety. On the other hand, PAOK failed to convert their good movement of the ball into scoring opportunities, and the 0-0 scoreline did not change until the half-time break.
The second half started with a missed effort for each team by A. Zivkovic and Jovic, while in the 52nd minute Meite felt some discomfort in his groin and was forced to leave the pitch, with Lucescu bringing on Ozdoev and Kamara in place of the Frenchman and Hatsidis.
The pattern of play was comewhat broken up for a spell by tough tackling and one-on-one duels all over the pitch as the trension mounted, with PAOK though threatening in the 68th minute, when Baba squared the ball for Ozdoev, but the Russian midfielder’s shot went high over the crossbar from a good position.
The visitors attempted to slow the game down while seeking to strike on the counter-attack. And from one such effort in the 78th minute Jovic curled a shot narrowly wide from a good position on the edge of the penalty area.
In the 87th minute, PAOK had a great chance to score when Baba sent over a dinked cross for the arriving Kamara, but the midfielder headed narrowly wide when he looked certain to score. AEK responded to in the fourth minute of added time, with Jovic heading the ball over the diving Pavlenka, only to see his effort come back off the post and the score remained 0-0 until the final whistle.
The three-point gap from the top remained intact, with PAOK having a game in hand.
Team lineups:
PAOK: Pavlenka, Kenny, Kedziora, Michailidis, Baba, Meite (52′ Ozdoev), Zafeiris (86′ Bianco), Hatsidis (52′ Kamara), A. Zivkovic, Taison, Giakoumakis.
AEK: Strakosha, Rota, Relvas, Mukundi (64′ Vida), Pilios (79′ Penrice), Pineda, Marin, Koita (79′ Ljubicic), Gacinovic (64′ Kutesa), Varga (90+2′ Zini), Jovic.
