OUR PAOK got what he wanted in the “battle” of “Leophoros” as well as in the 1:1 draw he got from Panathinaikos, in the rematch for the quarter-final stage of the Cup, they checked with a total score of 3-1 a ticket to the four, where they will meet with Lamia. After winning 2-0 in the first match of Toumba and 3-0 for the championship in Athens, PAOK completed their trilogy of matches against the Greens with another positive result.

In relation to the two previous dates, yesterday’s one lagged behind in pace and quality, but won in intensity and nervousness. Tellingly, Finnish referee Viljanen issued a total of 11 yellow cards and one red to Brandon Thomas, who knocked Sarliya off the field.

Panathinaikos, and under the pressure of its fans, started stronger and was clearly better than the previous two times. Despite playing without a stopper base and Pugur due to discomfort (Kurbelis played with Sarlija), with Puhac instead of a deformed Huancar and Verbic from XI, it was the team that imposed their pace and looked for an early goal, which was found in the 18th minute with a great shot Cherina from outside the penalty area. The Greens kept the initiative until the end of the 45th minute, while PAOK focused more on not conceding the second goal.

At the beginning of the second half, Jovanovic passed Mancini (announced yesterday until 2026 with an annual salary of 700,000 euros), but also Kleinheisler, risking even more. Although the possession image has not changed, Dikefalos probably kept the Panathinaikos players away from Kotarski’s zone with relative ease, especially when Bernard came out of the match with discomfort (in the 66th minute).

From that moment on, PAOK went into their own half when Panathinaikos became vulnerable in the center of the field. The phase that decided qualifying came in the 74th minute when Ingasson headed into Kerin’s hand and Viljanen awarded a penalty after using VAR. The penalty was converted into a goal by Oliveira, who equalized the score 1-1 and, in fact, turned the rest of the game into a formality.

Previously, a place in the semi-final was also booked for the 4th time in its history by Lamia, who won – once again in battle – over Apollon Paralimni with a score of 4: 2 (20′ Askovsky, 25′ Pavlavets, 38′ Gekas ( auto ), 93′ Tsiloulis / 8′ Kutsavasilis, 86′ Elesi).

After the completion of yesterday’s matches, the pairs in Phase 4, which will be held February 7-9 and March 2-3, are AEK – Olympiacos and Lamia – PAOK.