Valiant PAOK falls short against Lyon as Panathinaikos holds Roma at bay
Source: NEOS KOSMOS
PAOK and Panathinaikos mustered great strength to put out two gallant performances in their Europa League matches with Roma and Olympique Lyon, with the Greens managing to earn a hard-fought point though
The “Trifylli” scored a 1-1 draw with Roma at the Olympic Stadium in Athens on Friday morning, finishing the Europa League’s League Phase in 20th position with 12 points.
Panathinaikos looked shaky to start off as Roma seemed well placed to take charge of the clash, though things changed dramatically when Gianluca Mancini was handed a red card in the 15th minute following a VAR check.
The defender’s send-off allowed the Greens to settle into the game and they even narrowly avoided taking the lead in the 37th minute when youngster Giorgos Katris hit the crossbar from a lovely long-range effort.
The “Trifylli” did eventually go ahead when Vicente Taborda pounced on a loose header backwards and calmly deposited the ball into the bottom right corner (57′), though it was later cancelled out by Jan Ziolkowski’s 80th minute header.
Panathinaikos, who had already qualified for the next phase prior to the game, will now face either Viktoria Plzen or Nottingham Forest in the knockout play-offs for a spot in the Round of 16.
Should they play Nottingham, it would loom as a chance to get one over Olympiacos as the two clubs share an owner in Evangelos Marinakis.
PAOK put together a valiant display against Lyon in light of the tragedy that saw seven of their fans killed days before, though they ultimately fell 4-2.
The Thessaloniki giants struck first through Giorgos Giakoumakis in the 20th minute, with the team’s celebrations being understandably very muted given the circumstances.
Remi Himbert equalised in the 33rd minute and PAOK soon after went down to ten men when Giannis Konstantelias earned a second yellow (40′).
Khalis Merah put Lyon ahead in the 55th minute only for PAOK to show further fight and bring it level again through Soualiho Meite (66′).
The French side eventually seized control at the death with goals to Adam Karabec (88′) and Alejandro Rodriguez (90+3′), resigning PAOK to a defeat that meant they finished the League Phase in 17th with 12 points.
Like Panathinaikos, the “black-whites” had already guaranteed a place in the knockouts and they will now play either Crvena Zvezda or Celta de Vigo for a berth in the Round of 16.
In other results, Konstantinos Karetsas scored an 82nd minute winner to lead Genk to a 2-1 triumph against Malmo.
The win brought them in contention of finishing in the top eight, but Roma’s draw helped them hold onto eighth via goal difference.
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