PAOK began their Europa League League Phase duties with a defeat, losing 3-1 in Istanbul to Galatasaray.
The champions of Greece and Turkey, “relegated” from the Champions League, offered a beautiful and strong game, with the home team prevailing thanks to the quality of their squad and the depth of their bench, with top-class players.
The home side stormed into their packed and pulsating stadium, but the “blacks and whites” were particularly threatening on the counter-attack and on three occasions Konstantelias (7′), Zivkovic (9′) and Chalov (13′) only needed one… click to score.
The Turks had to counter the class of Osimen, who in the first seconds made a mistake with his head and in the 16th minute was stopped at the last moment by Koley.
Kotarski saved a diagonal cross from Osimen (25′) after an error from Otto and, as the game progressed, the Croatian goalkeeper also had an answer for Sara’s left-footed shot.
However, the best chance of the match fell to PAOK, when in the first minute of injury time, Gouvens made the save of the match in a 4-4 draw with Constantelia.
Ultimately, everything was about to happen in the second half. In the 47th minute, Yılmaz went behind the defense but, under pressure, was unable to beat Kotarski.
From Mertens’s corner that followed, however, Osimen headed the ball and Baba, in an attempt to clear it, got confused and sent the ball into his team’s net.
The game took on a frenetic pace, with one phase after another. In the end it was the “Two Heads” who managed to equalise, when in the 67th minute Zivkovic saw Otto move, turned the ball, Gouvens cleared it but Konstatelias crossed suddenly into the far corner for 1-1.
But it quickly became 2-1 as in the 75th minute Mertens headed first, Osimen the second and the unguarded Agyoun beat Kotarski with a left-footed volley.
In injury time, Giovens blocked Otto’s powerful shot and in the last stage of the game, Icardi, with an unlikely place in the movement, made it 3-1 in the final.
On matchday 2 (3 October), Galatasaray plays in Latvia against Riga and PAOK hosts Steaua Bucharest in Toumba.