Răzvan Lucescu got the opportunity to see Amr Warda and Aleksandar Prijović in action for the first time. He fielded the Egyptian forward in the starting line-up and also shuffled his pack, making combinations of players on the pitch. Lazaros Lamprou was rested out of precaution, while injured Thibault Moulin also sat on the sidelines. Omar El Kaddouri complained of pain in the vastus externus muscle and didn’t participate in the encounter. His condition will be evaluated by the medical staff.

After a rather sleepy initial quarter, PAOK took the reins of the encounter, just like they had done in the first half of the game against FC Steaua București. Ball possession, dictating pace, excellent passing and creating attacking opportunities.

Léo Jabá, very lively all evening, netted his first –unofficial– goal for PAOK in the 28th minute and made sure it was quite impressive. The young Brazilian overtook half of KAA Gent players and made it 1-0 with a flawless finish.

After the interval, PAOK coach made many substitutions and that messed with their pace and allowed their rivals to claim possession and start threatening Rodrigo Rey’s goal. The Argentinian goalkeeper produced some excellent saves throughout the second half.

The “Double-Headed Eagle” applied pressing high up the pitch looking for counterattacking opportunities, with Aleksandar Prijović spearheading their attack, but the final touches left much to be desired. In the last minute of stoppage time, the Belgian side managed to equalize with a header following a corner kick.

PAOK line-up:

Glykos (46′ Rey), Κitsiou (46′ Μatos), Varela (46′ Mihojević), Khacheridi (70′ Crespo), Vieirinha (46′ Balogiannis), Shakhov (70′ Maurício), Pelkas (46′ Biseswar), Jabá (57′ Limnios), Warda (60′ Mystakidis), Mystakidis (46′ Prijović)