PAOK lined up without the injured Kiril Despodov and the suspended Magomed Ozdoev , but with Kamara returning alongside Meite in midfield, and Brandon Thomas starting up front ahead of Pelkas, Taison and Konstantelias , with Kedziora also returning to the side after injury.

Panathinaikos managed to spring a surprise on the home side early on, taking the lead in the second minute, when Ingason won a header from a cross for Jedvaj to nod the ball home.  The visitors almost made it two seven minutes later but Kotarski made a great save from Djuricic’s shot, keeping his team in the game.

Despite the early serback, Razvan Lucescu’s team did not panic, and quickly balanced the game out and tried to press for the equalizer. Dragovski was called upon to save an effort from Meite in the 11th minute, while Taison missed the target shortly afterwards.

PAOK kept possession for long spells, played with intelligence and patience and in the 35th minute they were soon vindicated for their efforts. Initially they missed a great chance in the 34th minute, with Dragovski saving Kamaras’ header. Bit after a set-piece play shortly afterwards, Giannis Michailides produced a stunning strike to level matters and set up a thrilling match.

After the goal, the Double-headed Eagle had two more great opportunities to turn the match on its head before the half-time break, with Dragovski saving Otto’s shot, while next Taison failed to find the target from a good position as the teams went into the dressing rooms at 1-1.

In the second half, the pattern of teh game did not change. PAOK had the lion’s share of possession and control of the ball, played methodically and intelligently, and they were rewarded in the 57th minute with a winning goal. Taison collected the ball after the opposing defense tried to clear their lines, and he released Kamaras, who made it 2-1 with a clinical side-footed effort.

Lucescu’s team then managed the rest of the match perfectly, not giving Panathinaikos the chance to threaten. PAOK also missed further opportunities to increase their winning margin before the final whistle.

PAOK moved up to third place as a result, since AEK were defeated 2-0 by Olympiacos, and also moved to within one point of Panathinaikos who currently occupy second place.

And so, there are two more «finals» to play.

Team lineups:

PAOK: Kotarski, Michailides, Kedziora, Baba, Otto, Meite, Kamara, Pelkas (58′ A. Zivkovic), Konstantelias (87′ Vieirinha), Taison (74′ Schwab), Brandon (74′ Chalov).

Panathinaikos: Dragovski, Limnios (87′ Jeremeyev), Vagiannidis, Jedvaj, Ingason, Maksimovic (71′ Cerin), Ounahi, Siopis (87′ Palmer-Brown), Djuricic (71′ Ioannidis), Pelistri (60′ Tete), Swiderski.