Panathinaikos, despite taking an early lead in their match against PAOK for the 4th round of the Stoiximan Super League playoffs, was defeated 2-1 at Toumba. The Greens, who will face AEK next week at the OPAP Arena, remain in second place in the standings.
The match started ideally for Panathinaikos, who opened the score as early as the 3rd minute. Ounahi crossed to the far post, Ingason headed the ball onto the opposite post, and Jedvaj, with another header, made it 0-1.
Despite the lead, the Greens could not maintain control of the game. Dragowski made two key saves — in the 12th minute against Meité’s shot and in the 35th minute against a Kamara header — but the home side managed to equalize in the 36th minute with a volley by Michailidis, who sent the ball into the top left corner.
In the 42nd minute, a penalty was not awarded for a push by Kędziora on Świderski inside PAOK’s box, and in the injury time of the first half, Dragowski made another difficult save on a powerful shot from Otto.
The second half lacked pace and major chances, especially early on. The first notable opportunity came in the 59th minute and was converted into a goal by PAOK: Taison passed to Kamara, who finished with a moving shot to make it 2-1, which remained the final score. Despite their efforts, Panathinaikos could not find an equalizer.
PAOK: Kotarski, Otto, Kędziora, Michailidis, Baba, Meité, Kamara, Konstantelias (87’ Vieirinha), Pelkas (58’ Zivković), Taison (75’ Schwab), Brandon (75’ Chalov).
Panathinaikos: Dragowski, Vagiannidis, Ingason, Jedvaj, Limnios (87’ Jeremejeff), Siopis (87’ Palmer-Brown), Maksimović (71’ Cerin), Ounahi, Pellistri (60’ Tete), Djuricic (71’ Ioannidis), Swiderski.
