Pregame
Kick Off
Half Time
Goals
Penalty
Substitution
Corners
Offside
Opportunity
Barshot
Comment
Yellow Card
Second Yellow Card
Red card
Missed Penalty
PAOK need big comeback after paying for mistakes in Zagreb
PAOK paid dearly for their mistakes in Croatia and were defeated 2-0 by Dinamo Zagreb at Maksimir Stadium, in their first leg of their Round of 16 tie of the 2023-24 UEFA Europa Conference League.
The Double-headed Eagle looked to be in control of the match for long spells, trid to build attacks, but the visitors did not manage to create many opportunities in front of goal. The Croatians, for their part, were clinical, punishing PAOK’s errors and gained a solid advantage ahead of the return leg at Toumba Stadium next week.
PAOK started the game well, took control of possession and tried to impose their rhythm. Razvan Lucescu’s men threatened first with Taison’s shot being blocked, while the home side had a shot that missed the target in the 24th minute through Hoxha.
In the 27th minute, PAOK missed a great opportunity to go in front when A. Zivkovic headed a cross from Baba , but unfortunatley for the visitors the ball went wide.
In the 36th minute, Kotarski saved Buturina’s shot, but a minute later the Croatians took the lead. Petkovic found himself in front of Kotarski in a one-on-one situation. The PAOK keeper saved his effort, but the ball ended up at the feet of the Dinamo forward, who prodded the ball home at the second attempt.
In the second half, PAOK continued to have a lot of possession, with Dinamo giving respect and space to Lucescu’s team, while they also looked to get forward on the counter-attack. The Double-headed Eagle managed to get into the final third on numerous occasions, but they failed to create clear chances, with the hosts then finding a second goal in the 71st minute, again with Petkovic on target.
PAOK still looked for a goal that would put them back in the game, and they contrived to miss two decent chances, with the best being a shot by Murg from an excellent position that went narrowly past the post, and now the visitors are called upon in the second leg to find the mental reserves to create a big upset in order to secure qualification.
Team lineups:
Dinamo Zagreb: Nevistic, Ristovski, Bernauer, Theofil-Katrin (46′ Vidovic), Perkovic, Misic, Susic, Spikic, Baturina (92′ Halilovic), Hoxha, Petkovic (90′ Kulenovic).
PAOK: Kotarski, Baba, Koulierakis, Kedziora, Jonny, Meite, Ozdoev (69′ Schwab), Konstantelias (69′ Murg), Taison, A. Zivkovic (83′ Tzimas), Brandon (60′ Despodov).
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