It was a very tough friendly game, its difficulty level accentuated by the intense heat and the quality of RSC Anderlecht who are readier than PAOK, as the Belgian league kicks off this weekend.

Abel Ferreira’s troops brought out on the pitch many positive elements. The Portuguese coach declared himself satisfied by his team’s overall performance.

PAOK dominated proceedings right from the start, their defence putting on a demure display and rarely getting threatened by the rival strikers. Upfront, the “Double-Headed Eagle” players made the most of their transition and opened up the field to hit their opponents.

Dimitris Pelkas scored the opener with a neat finish, teed up by Josip Mišić in the 31st minute. The home side were denied by the woodwork shortly before the interval.

In the second half, PAOK started rather tentatively into the match and the Belgian team advanced their lines in order to pressure more. But they ended up paying for it in the 56th minute, when Léo Jabá produced a magical assist to Chuba Akpom with goal at his mercy for a 0-2 lead.

The players of Vincent Kompany reduced distances in the 81st minute, with a rather lucky goal following a corner kick, but the “Double-Headed Eagle” reacted almost immediately. Antonis Gaitanidis collected the rebound after Miroslav Stoch’s effort and sealed PAOK’s 3-1 victory in the 83rd minute.

PAOK line-up:

Paschalakis, Matos (76′ Rodrigo), Varela, Crespo (76′ Ingason), Giannoulis, Mišić, El Kaddouri (76′ Kaçe), Biseswar (70′ Stoch), Jabá (70′ Limnios), Pelkas (70′ Gaitanidis), Akpom (70′ Świderski)