A ten-man PAOK FC lost to Romania’s FCSB, formerly referred to as FC Steaua București, 1-2 at the Tumba stadium in Thessaloniki on Thursday night in the first leg of the knock-out phase of the UEFA Europa League competition.
The Thessaloniki club managed to strike first in the 21st minute after Tanzanian striker Samatta slotted the ball home following a pass from midfielder Konstantelias.
The Greek side was in the driver’s seat in the first half having most of the ball possession until Brazilian winger Taison was sent off seconds before the teams went to the dressing rooms following a second yellow card booking.
The Romanian team capitalized on its one-man advantage on the field gradually taking control of the midfield and upping the pressure on the home team. The pressure bore fruits, as Gheorghita brought the teams on level terms on the 50-minute mark. Ten minutes later (60’), Dawa completed the comeback scoring the visitors’ second goal. PAOK FC will travel to Bucharest on February 20 for the second leg.
Earlier on Thursday, Panathinaikos FC was defeated (2-1) in Finland in the first leg of the knock-out stage in the Conference League by Iceland’s Víkingur Reykjavík.
Last month, Olympiacos FC thrashed Azerbaijan’s Qarabağ 3-0 at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium to earn a direct qualification to the Europa League round of 16 by finishing 7th in the League phase of Europa League play with 15 points.
