PAOK holds Schalke to 1-1 draw in away leg of Champions League tie
Thessaloniki’s PAOK held German side Schalke 1-1 in Germany in the first leg of the Champions League play-off between the two sides on Wednesday night.
Peruvian Jefferson Farfan gave the hosts the advantage in the first-half, before Miroslav Stoch equalised in the second period with a curling shot from outside the penalty area.
PAOK were only playing on Wednesday because the side that knocked them out of the Champions League, Ukranian Metalist Kharkiv, was expelled over match-fixing.
After being dominated in the first half, the Greek side came back into the game in the second 45 minutes, guided by their Dutch coach Huub Stevens, who spent a successful spell at Schalke.
“We didn’t play well on the wings in the first half, which is something that we cleared up at half time,” said Stevens.
“In the second half Schalke weren’t so dangerous. We were more stable and we profited from that.”
The return leg is next Tuesday but PAOK will have the disadvantage of playing behind closed doors because of crowd disturbances in the past.
