The journey continues
In Toumba the two sides were firing at will and made it 3-2 even before the interval, but in Moscow they couldn’t break the deadlock and played a goalless draw. PAOK earned a gutsy qualification at the expense of FC Spartak Moscow to the UEFA Champions League play-offs, keeping their dream of a maiden group stage participation alive.
Both teams started tentatively in the game, closing down spaces. PAOK had two early chances to take the lead with Dimitris Pelkas and Aleksandar Prijović. FC Spartak Moscow tried to reply, but Fernando’s shot went way wide.
In the 18th minute, Pelkas broke free in a counterattack, but his pass to Prijović was intercepted with a brilliant tackle by Dzhikiya. The Russians carved their biggest opportunity in the 26th minute, when following a free kick by Promes, José Alberto Cañas’s backwards header hit Alexandros Paschalakis’s woodwork.
Seven minutes later, the home side were reduced to ten players, after Luiz Adriano was given his marching orders by French referee Ruddy Buquet for elbowing José Ángel Crespo while the ball was out of play.
In the 37th minute, Prijović wasted a glorious opportunity for the opener, when he received a headed pass by Maurício, but his own header grazed the crossbar of the Russian side.
After the interval, PAOK dominated proceedings and threatened Maksimenko’s goal. In the 46th minute, Dzhikiya handed the ball but the referee waved “play”, then Maurício’s shot following Pelkas’s corner went wide.
In the 54th minute, PAOK wasted their biggest opportunity in the match. Dimitris Limnios charged down the right flank, Pelkas’s initial shot was weak and allowed Maksimenko to beat Prijović to the ball. Then he denied Amr Warda, who got the rebound and fired wide.
PAOK were in total control until the 70th minute. Warda had a second chance to score after a fine slalom between Spartak’s defenders, while Maksimenko prevailed in his duel with Pelkas, saving two shots and seeing a third one go just wide.
The final minutes were dramatic. The home side went for their last attempt to change the course of qualification. But PAOK’s defensive line functioned to perfection, Răzvan Lucescu’s troops won all duels on the pitch and booked their place in the UEFA Champions League play-offs, where they will measure themselves against SL Benfica.
Line-ups:
FC Spartak Moscow (Carrera): Maksimenko, Yeshchenko, Gigot, Dzhikiya, Kombarov (76’ Melgarejo), Glushakov, Fernando (62’ Samedov), Zobnin, Tashayev (46’ Zé Luís), Luiz Adriano, Promes.
PΑΟΚ ( Lucescu ): Paschalakis, Varela, Crespo, Matos, Vieirinha (64’ Khacheridi), Maurício, Cañas, Limnios, El Kaddouri (46’ Warda), Pelkas (79’ Shakhov), Prijović.
