Fantastic PAOKcontinues his excellent course with balls!
The “double head of the North” prevailed with his 4-0 OFI in Toomba for the 16th game of the Stoiximan Super League and first for 2024, in a game that did not catch high performance standards for a long time, but this year he has the quality in a few minutes to… hide the ball and take what he wants. The two minutes 39′-41′ which found two goals with Baba as the protagonist and laid the foundations for the “three points” are indicative.
The Ghanaian left-back was a big star with a goal and an assist, continuing his terrible season, as did Kirill Despodov who found the way to the net, sharing two assists. The other two goals were scored by Mark Antony (a first for the Brazilian) and Brandon Thomas.
Thus, the Thessalonians with their seventh consecutive victory in the championship remained at the top of the scoreboard with 38 points, increased the difference to +6 from Olympic which remained at 32 points after the defeat by Lamia, while they kept the +3 from AEK and are waiting for the result of Panathinaikos with PAS Ioannina who is competing at this time.
In the minds of the coaches:
PAOK’s first eleven for 2024 had changes compared to the last match against Kifissia. Razvan Lucescu kept the schematic with 4-2-3-1, with Kotarski under the posts and four in defense from right to left of Sastre, Ekong, Michaelidis and Baba.
The duo of Schwab and Tsigara took the center jersey and not the one of Ozdoev and Meite who played in Caesariani, while the midfield line remained the same with Despodov on the right wing, Murg as a staff midfielder and Constantelia on the left, with young to converge several times to the axis. At the top of the attack, Ali Samata was preferred and Brandon Thomas, who had found the net against Kifissia, sat on the bench.
On the opposite bank and Pepe Mel opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation with Bowman under the posts. Lambropoulos and Vouros were in the stoppers, with Larson on the right end of the defense and Abada on the left. In midfield were Mejado and Bakic, with Toral moving on the right and Riera on the left. Felipe is the only one promoted, with Neira behind him in a free role.
The match:
OFI was completely focused at the start of the match, was solid defensively and did not let PAOK make a strong start and pick up a fast pace, as it is used to in its games in Toumba. In the 5th Toral made the shot, but found Kotarski ready, while a minute later (6′) o Bakits he tried his feet from a distance, the shot had power and went just over the “black and white” crossbar.
Until the first 15 minutes, the visitors had “locked” in an excellent way the attacking assets of the “black and white”, who tried to look threatening with a foul by Murg at 19′, while at 21′ they won a penalty. Quick development by the home team, Despontov took the shot, the ball found Vouros’ hand and Chetsilas showed the white bullet. However, its execution Swab it was very bad, with Bowman telling him “no”, missing a great chance to put his team ahead.
In the 28th minute, Vouros almost scored an own goal after a strong cross from Baba, while in the 39th minute, PAOK, who had raised their performance, opened the scoring! Sastre turned in from the right but nobody managed to make contact with the ball, with Baba crossing and Despodov with an excellent header he sent the ball into the net for 1-0.
The “double-headed of the North” took advantage of the good momentum after the goal of the Bulgarian and a few seconds later scored a second goal! Despodov crossed from the right, Samata was unable to convert and Dad who had been promoted made it 2-0, with the Ghanaian having a goal and an assist in a span of two minutes.
At the end of the 45 minutes, PAOK had two good moments with Despodov’s shot and Samata’s header, while in the first minute of stoppage time, Razvan Lucescu’s team won a second penalty! Samata tried to head home and Lambropoulos in his effort to clear found Tanzanos, with VAR agreeing with Cetsila’s penalty suggestion. THE Samata undertook the execution, but neither did he managed to beat Bowman, who took a second penalty in the first half, which ended 2-0.
In the first part of the second half, OFI tried to look threatening with the shots of Neira and Abada in the 46′ and 47′ respectively, however, PAOK managed to take control afterwards and manage the score in their favor. In the 57th minute, Samata didn’t get the header he wanted, as he got confused with Schwab, while afterwards the many changes of Lucescu and Mel significantly slowed down the pace of the match.
The Cretans tried with some Mosquera shots and Neira to raise their intensity, but Kotarski was on hand and had no problem cleaning up. Thus, we were led to the last minutes when PAOK found two more goals, offering yet another great spectacle in the match. In the 89th minute, Meite’s pass passed to Despodov, o Mark Antony he supported the Bulgarian who passed him the ball and he scored 3-0 in an empty net.
The “two-headed man of the North” didn’t let his foot off the gas and at 90+2′ Tyson made a great switch to Despodov, who passed to Thomas who pretended to Lambropoulos – Thorarinson and executed for the final 4-0, keeping PAOK at the top of the scoreboard.
MVP: Normally the award would have to be split down the middle for Baba (one goal, one assist) and Despodov (one goal, two assists), however, the Ghanaian was a click more influential, having also contributed defensively, in yet another excellent performance this season with PAOK.
The whistle: The refereeing of Constantinos Chetsilas was good, with correct decisions, in consultation with the VAR, in the two PAOK penalties for Vouros’ hand in Despodov’s shot and in the marking of Lambropoulos on Samata.
PAOK (Razvan Lucescu): Kotarski, Sastre, Ekong, Michaelidis, Baba, Tsingaras (Ozdoev 66′), Schwab (Meite 76′), Despodov, Constantelias (Tyson 66′), Murg (Antonio 86′), Samata (Brandon 76′)
OFI (Pepe Mel): Bowman, Larson, Vouros, Lambropoulos, Abada, Meyado, Toral, Bakics (Mosquera 62′), Riera (Torarinson 62′), Neira (Diko 74′), Luis Felipe.
Referee: Chetsilas
Assistants: Meidanas, Mousiadis
4th: Tsimenteridis
VAR: Zelos, Samoilis
The live update of the match
Source: Sport Fm
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