Lucescu delighted with first leg performance against Basel
 

Despite conceding an away goal in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round against Basel, Romanian boss Razvan Lucescu was still happy with PAOK’s performance.

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Making their long-awaited return to the Champions League, PAOK packed the Toumba Stadium to the rafters in Thessaloniki, as the hosts controlled proceedings against their experienced opponents. Jose Canas opened the scoring with a sumptuous, stunning long-range attempt, before Aleksandar Prijovic’s clever finish doubled the advantage with only ten minutes remaining.

However, Basel forward Albian Ajeti headed past Alexandros Paschalakis after a defensive mix-up, leaving PAOK with a bad taste in their mouths ahead of next week’s decider.

Following the match, head coach Razvan Lucescu extended his condolences to the victims of the Attica fires: “First of all, I would like to say that my thoughts are with the families of those who have died in the tragic fire,” stated the 49-year old. When asked about the match, Lucescu shared his delight with PAOK’s football: “Today, I am really happy with my players and the football which we displayed. Nevertheless, there is a feeling of disappointment for the goal which we conceded.

We will go to Switzerland in order to win the match and qualify. Overall, I think we had a really good transition from defence to attack. At this level, any mistake will be punished, Basel had two big chances because of our errors. Leo Jaba and Dimitris Limnios played great, they created lots of opportunities.”

FC Basel manager Raphael Wicky was happy with the away goal scored, although he was still annoyed having lost the game: “Yes, the away goal is very important, but I can’t be satisfied with the defeat. In the first half, we had two big chances, so I was confident that we would have another opportunity to hit the target. Was I surprised by PAOK’s play? No, they have an experienced team with quick attackers. The chances for progression to the next round are still 50/50.”

Imposing Serbian striker Aleksandar Prijovic, scorer of PAOK’s second goal, gave his views in a conversation with Nova Sports: “I believe that we created more chances today, but they are a quality team. 2:0 would have been a perfect result, but we conceded an unnecessary goal to make it 2:1. Still, I believe that we will beat Basel in Switzerland and qualify for the next round. It was a fantastic atmosphere at the stadium and I am always happy when I can help the team to win. At their ground, we have to play at our best for 90 minutes.”

First goalscorer Jose Canas is focused on finishing the job in Switzerland: “We have to be ready in Basel and work really hard,” said the 31-year old Spanish midfielder. “Basel are an excellent team with Champions League experience, but we will travel there to earn the qualification. My goal? Of course I’m really happy to score and contribute to the victory, however we did not deserve to concede an away goal.”
 

by: Shaun Nicolaides

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