PAOK draws at Schalke but bows out of Europe
PAOK snatched a 1-1 draw at Schalke on Wednesday to improve its standing in the UEFA rankings, but its 3-0 home loss last week in the first leg meant that it has crashed out of the Europa League with a 4-1 aggregate score.
The story of PAOK’s season in Europe has been all about playing better on the road than at home, and this was also the case in this knock-out tie for the Round of 32.
Schalke opened the score midway through the first half courtesy of Alessandro Schoepf, but PAOK responded with an Efthymis Koulouris effort that went into the net via Schalke’s Matija Nastasic.
Schalke had several chances to win on the night, but it was not meant to be as in its the biggest opportunity on the fourth minute of injury time Thilo Kehrer hit the crossbar before keeper Panayiotis Glykos saved the Greeks from defeat.
PAOK fans made an impressive showing at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, and were not carried away by the provocations of the home fans. Traveling Schalke supporters last week had waved 50-euro notes at the Greek fans at Toumba.
On Thursday Olympiakos visits Osmanlispor in Ankara after the goalless draw last Thursday in Piraeus.
