PAOK rout Basel to progress in Champions League qualifying
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - 2ND QUALIFYING ROUND (LEG 2)
| Basel | 0 - 3 | PAOK |
|---|---|---|
| Agg. 1-5 | Varela 7' Prijovic 52' El Kaddouri 60' |
PAOK produced an emphatic 3-0 victory over Basel in Switzerland on Wednesday to roar into the Champions League playoffs.
Watch LIVE GREEK TV including full GREEK SPORTS coverage from AGONASport.com!
Goals from Fernando Varela, Aleksandar Prijovic and Omar El Kaddouri earned the Greek Cup winners a hugely impressive second leg win in their 2nd qualifying round tie which allowed them to advance courtesy of a 5-1 aggregate score against the team that reached the last 16 of the competition last season.
.
The reward for Razvan Lucescu’s men is a playoff clash with Russian giants Spartak Moscow.
PAOK, just as in the first leg at the Toumba which they won 2-1, were the better team throughout the match at St Jacob’s Park, with the Black and Whites particularly effective in attack.
In front of 2,500 of its fanatical traveling fans, PAOK shook off an injury to captain, Vieirinha in the warm-up, and were ahead after just seven minutes. Dimitris Pelkas sent over a corner kick from the right, and Fernando Varela arrived to beat the stunned Basel defense to make it 1-0.
Serbian striker Prijovic then scored PAOK’s second goal just after half-time, capitalizing on a long ball from PAOK keeper Alexandros Paschalakis to lob a delightful effort over Basel goalkeeper Jonas Omlin.
Basel rarely threatened the visitors goal, even as the second half wore on, and on the hour mark El Kaddouri rounded off a great win with a clinical shot from a distance that beat Omlin’s desparing dive.
After two impressive performances, PAOK will feel it has enough in its ocker to defeat Spartak in the play-offs and reach the group stage of the Champions League for the first time in its history.
