Woeful PAOK suffer another Vidi defeat
UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 4
| MOL Vidi | 1 - 0 | PAOK |
|---|---|---|
| Milanov 50' |
PAOK’s Europa League adventure took another turn for the worse on Thursday as the Thessaloniki club suffered a second successive defeat to Hungarian side FC Vidi, losing 1-0 at the Ferencváros Stadion.
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Razvan Lucescu’s side, who surprisingly lost 2-0 to the Hungarians at their Toumba home last time out, were on the receiving end of another defeat as Georgi Milanov’s goal proved the difference between the two teams in a closely-contested Matchday 4 clash.
It’s a result which leaves PAOK bottom of the group and makes their chances of progressing to the knockout stages more difficult. Although they are still only three points adrift of second-placed Vidi, PAOK will probably need maximum points from their two remaining fixtures to have a hope of claiming second spot.
To make matters worse for PAOK, it was Vidi’s first home win after a barren spell of three matches without one, while it was also PAOK’s first away loss in Europe this season.
THE MATCH
PAOK arrived in Budapest in desperate need of redemption for the poor performance in their last meeting against Vidi, but it never looked like coming on the evidence of the first half especially.
Neither side was able to register a single shot on target in an opening 45 minutes characterized by cautious play and poor passing.
Vidi came out for the second half with more urgency and they finally broke the deadlock five minutes into the second half. The 26-year-old Bulgarian international midfielder Milanov was the man on target.
The PAOK defence had initially stopped an attack lead by Stefan Šćepović, but Paulo Vinícius superbly intercepted possession on halfway, and after a neat exchange of passes he clipped in in a delightful left-footed cross for Milanov to plant a superb header past PAOK goalkeeper Alexandros Paschalakis.
PAOK huffed and puffed after going behind, but there was a crippling lack of creativity and urgency in their play, which meant it was easy for the home side to deal with and repel any attacking threat.
A wayward Amr Warda free-kick in the closing stages summed up a turgid performance on another miserable European night for PAOK, who, aside from the victory over BATE Borisov, have struggled to translate their dominant domestic form to the Europa League stage.
The visitors launched a late assault in the final seconds but Léo Matos missed the target with a spectacular bicycle kick.
And PAOK’s next match? A trip to runaway group leaders Chelsea where a three-point return for the Greek side seems more like science fiction than a distinct possibility on this evidence.
STARTING LINEUPS
FC Vidi: 74 Kovácsik(GK), 3 Paulo Vinícius, 5 Fiola, 8 Hadžić, 9 Huszti, 11 Nego, 17 Pátkai, 22 Stopira, 23 Juhász(C), 44 Šćepović, 77 Milanov
PAOK: Paschalakis(GK), 3 Léo Matos, 5 Varela, 6 Toşca, 7 El Kaddouri, 9 Prijović, 15 Crespo(C), 18 Limnios, 19 Wernbloom, 28 Shakhov, 98 Léo Jaba
