Early shock at Toumba

PAOK suffered a 0-1 home defeat against Anderlecht in the first leg of their Europa League third qualifying round tie at Toumba on 6 August. The visitors stunned the hosts after just 17 seconds, when Mihalo Cvetković capitalised on a failed clearance by Živković and slotted past goalkeeper Kotarski to make it 0-1. The goal mirrored PAOK's recent match against Dynamo, where they also conceded early, a pattern coach Alessio Lisi acknowledged needed addressing.

Anderlecht nearly doubled their lead in the 15th minute, when Cvetković broke into the box again but dragged his shot wide. PAOK gradually settled, with Giannis Konstantelias emerging as the primary creative force. In the 29th minute, Konstantelias dribbled past two defenders and fed Tyson, whose shot drifted just wide of the right post.

Penalty drama and VAR intervention

In the 34th minute, Konstantelias won a penalty after being fouled inside the area by Jansana. Giannis Michailidis stepped up to take the kick two minutes later, but Anderlecht goalkeeper Cousemans guessed correctly and saved to his left. Mythou fired in the rebound, but the goal was disallowed by VAR because he had entered the penalty area before the kick was taken.

Minutes later, Konstantelias was brought down again in the box by Petro. The referee consulted the VAR monitor but ultimately awarded a foul against PAOK's Živković on Sikan in the buildup, denying a second penalty. Cvetković threatened a second goal in the 44th minute, but Pavlenka saved from close range.

Second half: possession without penetration

PAOK dominated possession after the break, reportedly exceeding 60% of the ball, but struggled to create clear chances against a deep Anderlecht defence. Michailidis, Konstantelias, and Geremeev fashioned the most notable opportunities, but Cousemans kept his goal intact. The Belgian goalkeeper's most important stop came in the 90th minute of stoppage time, when Zafeiris unleashed a powerful shot from inside the box that was kept out.

At halftime, Elustondo made his PAOK debut, replacing Pantelis Hatidiakos, who had received a yellow card. That was Hatidiakos's third booking, meaning he is suspended for the return leg in Brussels.

Lisi's reaction and what comes next

Alessio Lisi said his side deserved more from the match and pointed to the early concession as a recurring problem.

“We were not lucky. I don't like to talk about luck though. Against Dynamo we conceded in the first minutes and today the same thing happened. We have to work on this and focus on becoming better in the first minutes of every match.”

The Italian coach added that he remained optimistic about the return leg, noting it is just 90 minutes and that his team would fight for qualification in Belgium. The second leg takes place on Thursday, 13 August, in Brussels. If PAOK are eliminated, they will enter the Conference League playoffs against the winner of Brann vs Apollon Limassol. If they advance, they will face the loser of Levski Sofia vs Kairat in the Europa League playoffs.