PAOK emerge victorious in Larissa
SUPER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 24
PAOK claimed an important 2-1 win at Larissa in the Super League thanks to two first-half goals at the AEL FC Arena.
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Still in second place of the Super League, PAOK needed the three points to keep within two of league leaders AEL, and Abel Ferreira’s men duly succeeded in Larissa as Dimitris Limnios and Douglas Augusto both scored in the first half. In the second, Theocharis Iliadis did get AEL on the board, but PAOK held out.
AEL, for their part, occupy 10th place of the standings, with their championship playoff hopes faltering.
Next week, AEL will face Volos NFC on the road, while PAOK host arch-rivals Olympiacos at the Toumba Stadium.
THE MATCH
PAOK had a great chance within the opening 10 minutes.
Receiving a clever pass from Limnios, Dimitris Pelkas had an empty goal to aim at, but he contrived to lose his footing and the opportunity was gone.
PAOK did soon score their goal, though.
Once again, Limnios was at the heart of the action, lashing the ball high into the right corner after Chuba Akpom found him with a headed pass.
Towards the end of the half, there was a video assistant referee review for a possible handball inside the PAOK penalty area, however play was waved on after footage of the incident was analysed.
PAOK then doubled their advantage at the end of the first half.
Taking aim from distance, Douglas Augusto unleashed a swerving, rising attempt which flew beyond the AEL goalkeeper.
At the start of the second stanza, PAOK almost scored their third, with Pelkas’ headed effort grazing the crossbar.
Nevertheless, AEL weren’t prepared to wave the white flag, and Iliadis halved the deficit with 23 minutes remaining when thumping a shot past Zivko Zivkovic after a set-piece caused havoc.
PAOK, however, held on to secure the three points.
THE TEAMS
AEL: Kristinsson, Muzek, Markovic, Moras, Ballas, Ghazal (Iliadis 45+1’), Secerovic, Vinicius (Pinakas 77’), Assoubre, Torje, Papazoglou.
PAOK: Zivkovic, Giannoulis, Ingason, Varela, Matos, Douglas, Mauricio, Lamprou (Rodrigo 85’), Pelkas (El Kaddouri 62’), Limnios, Akpom (Swiderski 76’).
HIGHLIGHTS
