Dimitris Pelkas put on the captain’s armband after Vieirinha was ruled out of the encounter. He then spoke about PAOK’s performance in “St.Jakob Park”, about a squad full of options and the day after that brings FC Spartak Moscow on their path:

«We are very happy with our accomplishment. We said before the match that we came here to win and play in a disciplined manner. We knew that Basel would try to apply pressure, but we deserved victory.

Looking back in history, PAOK have managed to win and play well in several high-profile encounters. It’s in the team’s DNA.

We have several players who are good in the air. I was aiming for their head with that corner kick. We didn’t have Vieirinha today, but in came Khacheridi. We believed we could score from a set piece and did just that.

Vieirinha’s absence is a big deal. His personality helps us unblock complicated games. He asked us to play for him as well. Sometimes there is a silver lining to things. Khacheridi made it to the starting line up and, in my opinion, he was the best player of the match. Flawless.

Starting tomorrow, we will study Spartak Moscow. They have different characteristics. We will analyze them and play our game. We will look them in the eye and challenge them for qualification”.

Dimitris Limnios spoke about the family atmosphere within the team:

«We have a great group. Pelkas helps me a lot, he is constantly by my side. He has more experience and I am trying for the best.

Things are different in the UEFA Champions League. Everything is different. I was stressed, because we had promised to win and qualify. PAOK prevailed on the pitch from minute one. We played very well. We did what our coach told us and now we have Spartak Moscow ahead of us. Our aim is to improve constantly. Today we played very well. We know that Spartak are a great club, but we have also proved what we cn do”.

Alexandros Paschalakis experienced an evening he will never forget. He kept his goal intact and provided Aleksandar Prijović with the assist for PAOK’s second goal, underlining that it was rehearsed in training. He also dedicated victory to Ivan Savvidis and sent his message for upcoming games:

«This match unfolded just like our coach had planned. After the first leg, we said that we will win in Basel as well –and that is what we did today.

Losing Vieirinha shocked us a bit, to be honest. We tried to handle it as best as we could. I was the last to find out. We have a full squad of many options. Those who played today helped a lot.

We were demure and disciplined. From minute one, we played just like we should.

The assist to Aleksandar is something we work on in trainings. We wanted this victory to dedicate it to our president. He is very happy with our successes. He does everything in his power so that PAOK can climb to the top.

Spartak Moscow is a great team. We give our answers only on the pitch. On Thursday we will start analyzing them. We want to be disciplined in all our encounters”.