PAOK wanted a win over Panathinaikos to get into the play-offs on the right foot, waiting to see which of Olympiacos or AEK would drop points at Karaiskaki, but in the end they were held to a 0-0 draw and didn’t look to be in the best shape.
The atmosphere was as it should have been in Toumba and on 8 minutes the home side had their first good chance with Bamba’s header going just over the crossbar. A good start for Razvan Louchescu’s side, but not the rest of the game, as they had no further chances until the end of the first half.
The Black and Whites had possession of the ball and were mostly the ones trying to make a play, but without managing to be threatening. As for the visitors, on the other hand, they defended well and looked for counterattacks to become dangerous, but without being given any chance.
So, the first half went by without any spectacle, just hard fought duels and passion from both sides. However, there was a great chance at the start of the second, and it was for the “bicephalos north”, with Konstantelia going on the counter-attack and passing to Yeremeyev who went for the goal but Lafon made an impressive save.
A few minutes later, on 56 minutes, the Greens had their first chance as well, with Tettey making a chuff and Yendvai shooting, with the ball deflecting, changing course slightly and going just wide of Tsifchi’s crossbar. The game was more… lively now and on 62 minutes Rafa Benitez made the first substitution, bringing on Jarouri for Pelistri.
Soon after, on 64 minutes, the Moroccan had a great chance to open the scoring as he went one-on-one after a pass from Cirivella, but his finish was off target sending the ball out. Razvan Louchescu made his first changes on 66′, putting Sanchez and Yiakoumaki in for Sastre and Yeremeyev, while he also replaced Hatsidis with Pelka on 71′.
PAOK had possession of the ball and tried to press, but Panathinaikos defended well and did not threaten, with the 0-0 score remaining until the referee’s final whistle.
PAOK (Razvan Lucescu): Tsiftsis, Shastre (66′ Sanchez), Kendziora, Michaelides, Baba, Zafiris (76′ Kamara), Ozdoev, Hatsidis (71′ Pelkas), Konstantinos, Tyson, Yeremeyev (66′ Yiakoumakis).
Panathinaikos (Rafa Benitez): Lafon, Calabria, Yentvai, Ingason, Hernandez, Tsiriveya (88′ Cherin), Bakassetas (74′ Sanchez), Kyriakopoulos, Pelistri (62′ Zaruri), Tettei (74′ Spinderski), Taborda (74′ Antino).
