Fifth Greek Cup final between AEK and PAOK awaits
 

On Saturday, AEK Athens and PAOK Thessaloniki will meet in the Greek Cup final for the fifth time in history. AGONAsport looks at clubs’ previous games against each other in the showpiece match.

Watch LIVE from AGONAsport the Greek Cup Final between AEK & PAOK on Saturday, May 12th.  

So far, AEK boast a 3-1 advantage in Greek Cup finals against PAOK, beating their Dikefalos rivals in 1939, 1978 and 1983. However, PAOK gained revenge in 2017, defeating the Kitrinomavri 2:1 in a hugely dramatic encounter after Pedro Henrique scored the winning goal from an offside position.

Let’s take a trip back in time and see how the previous four Greek Cup finals contested by AEK and PAOK unfolded:

May 28, 1939. AEK - PAOK - 2:1 (Chatzistavridis 41’, Manetas 73’ - Ioannidis 31’)

In the first Greek Cup final contested between the two rivals, AEK hosted PAOK in Athens at the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, earning a tense 2:1 victory to complete the double after winning the league. PAOK did take initially draw first blood, but goals from Alexis Chatzistavridis and Vassilis Manetas stole an historic win for the Enosis.

June 4, 1978. AEK - PAOK - 2:0 (Bajevic 50’, Mavros 80’)

39 years later, the teams met again in the showpiece final, with the match taking place at the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus. It was another tight affair, but AEK burst into life during the second half, opening the scoring on 50 minutes through Dusan Bajevic’s header. Thomas Mavros doubled the advantage in the closing stages, sealing the 2:0 victory.
 

June 9, 1983. AEK - PAOK - 2:0 (Mavros 27’, Vlachos 80’)

In front of a packed Olympic Stadium, AEK claimed their third successive win against PAOK in the competition’s final. With 72 thousand passionate fans backing the team, the Enosis were too strong for PAOK, winning 2:0. Striker Thomas Mavros was again among the scorers, finding the net after 27 minutes of action. Evangelos Vlachos made it two late on with a superb individual effort.
 

May 6, 2017. PAOK - AEK - 2:1 (Biseswar 24’, Enrique 81’ - Christodoulopoulos 26’)

PAOK finally managed to get one over AEK in the Greek Cup, as the Dikefalos tou Vorra won a highly controversial match 2:1 in Volos. Diego Biseswar handed PAOK the lead midway through the first half, but Lazaros Christodoulopoulos equalised 180 seconds later with a powerful long-range attempt which goalkeeper Panagiotis Glykos could only spill into his own net.

Few opportunities were witnessed in a scrappy second half, however PAOK stole the victory on 81 minutes. Despite lurking in an offside position, Pedro Henrique headed beyond Giannis Anestis and AEK’s protests fell on deaf ears. 
 

by Shaun Nicolaides

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