Moron… sent PAOK to the top a week ago, Moron knocked them off tonight! The superstar from Aris scored in Toumba and gave the victory (0-1) to his team in the Thessaloniki derby. In 2nd place Dikephalos, at -2 from AEK.
Aris won a big prestige and psychological victory by beating PAOK 1-0 in the premier of the playoffs. Against Manzio’s players, who were committed to the coach’s plan, the “black and white” proved to be too few for such a match.
This is how the two teams started
Razvan Lucescu made two changes to the PAOK line-up compared to the one that played on Thursday night (7/3) in Maksimir, Zagreb, starting the Tuba derby against Aris with Marcos Antonio alongside Sualio Meite and Thomas Murg, instead for Giannis Constantelia, behind the striker who was Brandon Thomas.
The Romanian coach kept the same four in defense with Yoni Otto on the right wing, Rahman Baba on the left and the well-known duo Kenziora (started for the tenth game in a row) Koulierakis as stoppers.
Zivkovic, Murg and Tyson were the trio of the “Two-Headed” midfield line.
Akis Manzios, on the other hand, made four changes to his team’s starting formation, opting for a 4-3-3 formation. The 54-year-old coach’s changes were in midfield as he selected Verstraat, Zul and Darida.
Defensively, Moses Odubajo was retained on the right wing, Martin Montoya on the corresponding left, while Fabiano-Brabetz and Julian Cuesta remained in the duo of stoppers under the goal. In the attacking line, there was no surprise with the retention of Suleimanov, Saverio on the wings and Laurent Moron at the top.
Possession by PAOK, goal by Aris…
From the start of the match, the PAOK players took the ball at their feet and tried to break the two defensive zones that Aris had, with eight and nine players behind the ball.
The “black and white” had possession for half an hour, but the “yellow” the first time they entered Kotarski’s area found the goal and went ahead of the score (0-1) with Moron.
In the 31st minute, Saverio did what he wanted, unaffected from the left, Kenziora made two mistakes in the same phase, mistakes that cannot be forgiven by a striker in Moron’s class with 16 goals.
The “yellows” thanks to the Spanish striker’s “killer instinct” rewarded the plan and the plan of their coach, on the contrary, with 74%-26% possession of the ball, PAOK had a mountain to climb in front of them and the most important thing was that they had no point reference to the opponent’s defense.
The second half started with a forced change for Aris, as Moron stayed in the dressing room with ankle problems and Ansarifard took his place.
PAOK again had possession but didn’t have the slightest plan on how Aris would break the defence. Lucescu’s players did not have a clear mind, the “yellows” were the ones who missed a great opportunity with Saverio to 0-2.
Lucescu with the completion of an hour brought from the bench Constantelia and Schwab, instead of Murg and Marcos Antonio, in the 73rd minute the home team found a good moment with the header of the undisturbed Baba, a shot from Jima that Cuesta took, a final at home with Konstantelias, and nothing but the pressure he exerted until the end of the match.
MVP: One phase, one shot, one goal. His name: Lorraine Moron.
AT THEIR HEIGHT: Very good game from Verstrate-Jull and Odubajo.
THE WEAK LINK: Brandon Thomas either played 71 minutes or he didn’t, it’s the same. PAOK’s problem remains the reference to the front position.
The blunder: Kenziora carried out a bad defensive behavior of “black-white” in the phase 0-1 of Moron.
THE STRAGALIE: Slovenia’s Rade Obrenovic and compatriot Alen Borosak in VAR ruled there was no foul on Zul’s hand from Constantelia’s shot.
GAZZETTA’S FOUNDATION: For the third game of the season, Aris stay upright against PAOK and double the wins over their eternal rival, with Manzio again beating Lucescu. Fair and well-deserved victory for Mars in Toumba, a victory for psychology and prestige.
PAOK (Razvan Lucescu): Kotarski, Yoni (71′ Despontov), Kenziora, Koulierakis, Baba, Meite (78′ Ozdoev), Markos Antonio (59′ Schwab), Zivkovic, Murg (59′ Konstantelias), Tyson, Thomas (71′ Jimas)
Aris (Akis Manzios): Cuesta, Odubajo, Fabiano, Brambetz, Montoya, Jules (76′ Veleth), Westrat, Darinda (93′ Ferrari), Suleimanov (89′ Fetfajidis), Saverio (76′ Zamora), Moron (46′ Ansarifard).
