A defeat to complicate things
PAOK were below par in Baku and suffered a rare away defeat in European competition. Up until today, there was talk about the team’s ability to create chances but failure to convert them. But on Thursday, they didn’t rise to the occasion.
PAOK managed just a few shots against Qarabağ FK and even fewer were really dangerous. Apart from an overhear scissor-kick of Yevhen Shakhov (had it gone in, we would be talking about the goal of the season) and a shot by Léo Matos after the interval, Vladan Ivić’s troops were far from threatening.
The Azeri side was livelier and brought out more energy on the pitch. In the first half, they came close to an opener through Muarem and with Ndlovu’s shot on woodwork. In the second half, they broke the deadlock with Quintana in the 56th minute and added a second with Αmirguliyev three minutes from time.
It’s not just the result, but the overall performance of PAOK that leaves much to be desired. However they still have qualification in their hands, as they will play against the Azeri side and FC Slovan Liberec and have already four points. But things got complicated, since Qarabağ FK proved to have a good team, capable of creating danger.
Line-ups:
Qarabağ FK (Qurbanov): Šehić, Garayev, Medvedev, Ndlovu (76΄ Madatov), Muarem (93΄ Νadirov), Sadygov, Αmirguliyev, Αlmeida, Αgolli, Guseynov, Quintana (90΄ Alasgarov).
strong>PΑΟΚ (Ivić): Glykos, Matos, Crespo, Varela, Leovac, Cañas (59΄ Biseswar), Cimirot, Shakhov, Rodrigues, Thiam (66΄ Pereyra), Campos (76΄ Koulouris).
