The all-weather PAOK is making its way to Germany

PAOK strolled through the rain, easily defeated Panserraikos 5-0 as the final shows, and are now on course to secure top spot in the Conference League group when they face Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany.

From a game in which he made it easy by taking advantage of all the opportunities that came his way – for example, he scored the first goal when Panserraikos played with 10 men due to an injury to Avlonitis – Dikefalos can retain the three points and the fact that Lucheskos’ players are getting more and more chemistry and homogeneity.

And because of their quality, they produce beautiful things on the field and continue to satisfy their fans today who braved the really bad weather conditions and came to the field. The PAOK fans left Toumba today soaked to the bone but definitely happy with what they saw…

With MVP Murg and Tyson

Only positive things emerged for PAOK from the five-point win against Panserraikos, which ultimately proved to be a low hurdle.

Razvan Lucescu started Stefan Schwab in midfield for the first time this season, without pairing him with Harry Tsingara. The PAOK coach chose the Austrian midfield duo Magomed Ozdoev.

Whether that means Meite-Csigaras, his two most consistent blocking midfielders, will find out in Germany against Eintracht in the coming days, but the mere fact that we have arrived at the end of November to break down the midfield pairings is rather semiotic.

A special mention certainly deserves Thomas Murg, who started for the 8th time in the first 12 games of the league and, together with Tyson, was the big star of the game with his 2 goals scored.

The activation of the Austrian is the work of Lucescu, who showed in the Murg case that he is not as “obsessed” as his opponents want to portray him. In fact, the Romanian himself admitted that he is also responsible for Murg being virtually excluded from the team last year.

The apotheosis of Garcia and the disappointment of the schemers

However, those who were waiting to see what would happen between Lucescu and Pablo Garcia and expecting “fights” were disappointed as everything went as normal. After the end of the game, when the Uruguayan led his players to meet friends of Panseraikos who were in Toumba, the two coaches exchanged handshakes and chatted for a long time.

It was also normal that PAOK fans booed the Uruguayan before the start of the game and after the 3-0 win. For Dikefalo fans, Pablo Garcia remains a folk hero and that couldn’t change since he worked as a coach at Panserraikos.

It would be a mistake to think that this apotheosis could diminish PAOK fans’ appreciation for Razvan Lucescu. The fact that Toumba shouts slogans about Garcia does not mean that she doubts the Romanian technician, who is, after all, the coach who has brought the most titles to the biceps.

Optimistic for Marcos Antonio

For the PAOK coach, what his team does on the pitch is important. Lucescu confirms what he has stubbornly maintained since the start of the season, namely that time is an advantage for his team.

And logically it will stay that way for the rest of the season. Today, for example, the Romanian coach, without even being asked, showed optimism that the time is approaching when Marcos Antonio will be ready to play and, as he said, he too will be an important addition to a team that continues to be so does highlight more and more protagonists from game to game.

PAOK is now doing very well, which is mainly thanks to the work and management of its coach. And if it becomes Lucescu’s team in lockdown mode, it will do even better.

All this over time… For now, the team from Thessaloniki faces another final on Thursday in Frankfurt, and if they manage to return from Germany and maintain their unbeaten record in Europe, then logically first place will be theirs.

And in doing so, he not only secures direct qualification for the round of 16 of the conference, but also “fixes” his program in February, which is likely to be decisive for the championship, without Europe…