Pregame
Kick Off
Half Time
Goals
Penalty
Substitution
Corners
Offside
Opportunity
Barshot
Comment
Yellow Card
Second Yellow Card
Red card
Missed Penalty
An inglorious end to the dream
PAOK were primed and ready. The players fought with all their might. The team did most things right on the night… until the 95th minute. Then, with one-and-a-half feet in the UEFA Champions League Play Offs, they gave away a stoppage-time free-kick in the final phase of play from which Malmo levelled at 3-3. That broke the psychology of the PAOK players and in extra-time, the visitors scored a winning goal to claim qualification and end PAOK’s hopes of making it into Europe;s elite club competition.
Razvan Lucescu made just one change to the starting line-up from the clash in Sweden, with Mady Kamara starting in place of Schwab .
The first 45 minutes were a rollercoaster of emotions. The two teams stepped onto the pitch in determined mood to play football and attack. The result? Five goals, many more chances, a rich spectacle and PAOK in the ascendancy.
In the 10th minute, the visitors took the lead with Nanasi heading a the far post to make it 1-0. PAOK needed 10 minutes to equalize. Taison was the man on target, the Brazilian curling in a free kick from a wide position to beat Dahlin.
In the 28th minute Brandon missed a great chance from a good position and then from the 43rd minute there were five minutes of absolute football madness.
Koulierakis scored an absolute wondergoal from 30 yards to make it 2-1, with the Swedes though responding quickly through Nanasi in the 45th minute, with Kotarski unable to clear the ball to make it 2-2.
And while everyone expected that the two teams would go into the dressing rooms at half-time on level terms, Andrija Zivkovic stepped up to make the difference. The Serb made it 3-2 with a great shot after cutting inside to spark jubilant celebrations among the fans inside the white-hot Toumba.
PAOK also started the second half strongly, although they had to replace Taison due to the Brazilian feeling some discomfort. In the 56th minute, Dahlin made a big save from Koulierakis, which also then hit the post, in a phase of play where there was a clear penalty for the PAOK defender, while in the 59th minute, Murg , who replaced Taison, shot from a good position inside the area, but sent the ball past the Malmö post.
PAOK managed the game correctly, but unfortunately the Swedes scored an equalizer in the last phase of play in added time and sent the match to extra-time. Malmö won a foul near the penalty area, and the ball was whipped over from the left flank. The inswining cross caused panic in the PAOK defence, and after several duels and deflections, the ball landed between Mady Kamara and Zetterström. Then, in an effort to clear the ball, Kamara struck the ball off the latter’s leg and it rebounded past Kotarski and into the back of the net, sending the game into extra time at 3-3.
The Swedes then took the lead in the 96th minute after Zetterstorm’s pass to Christiansen, who rounded Kotarski and slotted into an empty net, in a phase of play that clearly started with a clear foul by Malmö but was not given by the referee.
The goal gave the visitors a further morale boost and they had further chances through Ali, with Kotarski stopping him twice until half-time of extra-time.
PAOK wanted but failed to find the equalizing goal, and so the score remained the same until the final whistle, with PAOK eliminated from the UEFA Champions League.
The players must immediately leave behind the bitterness of the elimination and be ready, firstly for the game against Panserraikos in the premiere of the 2024-25 Stoiximan Super League, and then for the Play Offs of the UEFA Europa League, where they await the winner from the Celje-Shamrock Rovers 3rd qualifying round tie.
Team lineups:
PAOK: Kotarski, Baba, Koulierakis, Kedziora, Sastre, Kamara, Ozdoev (Schwab 72′), Taison (Murg 49′, Tissoundali 101′), Konstantelias (Vieirinha 86′), A.Zivkovic (Despodov 72′), Brandon ( Chalov 72′).
Malmo: Dahin, Strieger (Olsen 114′), Jansson, Zetterstorm, Busanegio, Rieks (Bolin 60′), Peña (Berg 105′), Jonsen, Nanassi (Christiansen 79′), Thelin (Ressler 114′), Bottheim (Ali 88′).
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