PAOK overjoyed with comeback, Spartak regretting complacency
Following PAOK’s incredible comeback against HC Spartak Moscow in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, home boss Razvan Lucescu was beaming, while his counterpart Massimo Carrera lamented the result.
In front of a raucous Toumba Stadium, Spartak made a superb start, scoring twice early on through Ivelin Popov and Quincy Promes. Nevertheless, the hosts conjured up a simply stunning response, netting three goals with Aleksandar Prijovic, Dimitris Limnios and Dimitris Pelkas hitting the jackpot. Alexandros Paschalakis then came up trumps, stopping a Promes penalty.
PAOK manager Razvan Lucescu was rightfully delighted with his team’s performance, eager for the players to continue playing the same way in Moscow next week: “It was a fantastic game where we faced a high level team,” beamed Lucescu. “In the first 15 minutes, Spartak Moscow were a lot calmer than us, but we started controlling the ball better and creating problems for their defence.
The penalty? In my opinion, it shouldn’t have been a spot kick, but Alexandros Paschalakis pulled off an impressive save. We have won three consecutive games in the Champions League now and we’ve proved that we have a really strong mentality. Who is the favourite? Spartak have more experience in this competition, we had already mentioned that they’re the favourites. The quality of the Russian championship is very high.”
As for his part, Massimo Carrera noted that Spartak became complacent when boasting a 2:0 advantage: “When we led by two goals, we thought that it was simply too easy,” moaned the Italian coach. We didn’t keep the ball well and PAOK were allowed to dominate proceedings. Did the Toumba Stadium affect the result? They kept supporting their team when they were losing 0:2.”
PAOK midfielder Dimitris Pelkas, who scored the goal to gift the Dikefalos tou Vorra an advantage, shared his joy from the victory: “It was a thrilling European match with goals, penalties and plenty of drama,” stated Pelkas. “My chance to extend the lead even further? It was my mistake, I simply didn’t hit the target. With patience, we can achieve great things this season, I believe in my team. Our dream is to be in the Champions League group stage.”
