PAOK picks up right where it left off in its first friendly match against Beveren (4-1), comfortably defeating fellow Belgian side Westerlo 4-0, with Yiannis Konstantelias once again in top form.

The Greek superstar of the “black-and-whites” opened the scoring with a flawless finish in the 54th minute, while in the 63rd minute, Thymianis fired a rocket from inside the opponent’s box, until Kamara put the icing on this four-goal cake with two goals of his own in the 74th and 78th minutes.
Alessio Lisi once again tested new players and new tactics, with Aritz Elustondo making his unofficial debut and a number of… youngsters getting even more playing time under their belts.

PAOK threatened for the first time in the 7th minute, when Zivkovic attempted a surprise shot after a pass from Taylor, but the Westerlo goalkeeper made a difficult save in the lower right corner, clearing the danger. Four minutes later, the “black-and-whites” suffered a setback when Sarris was forced to leave the game due to knee discomfort, with Thymianis taking his place.

In the 18th minute, Zafeiris found space outside the box and tried his luck from long range, but the ball ended up in the opposing goalkeeper’s arms. The next big moment for “Double-Headed Eagle” came in the 39th minute, when Berdos unleashed a powerful shot from the edge of the box, which the Belgian goalkeeper blocked confidently.

PAOK’s dominance paid off in the 54th minute. The Thessaloniki side launched a lightning-fast counterattack, Mithou delivered a perfect pass to Konstantelias, and the PAOK captain, with an excellent finish, sent the ball off the crossbar and into the net, making it 1-0.

Nine minutes later, in the 63rd minute, Thymianis scored a spectacular goal to make it 2-0. After a high ball was played into the box, the PAOK midfielder struck on the move, firing a powerful shot that hit the crossbar and bounced in, doubling his team’s lead.

Westerlo came close to pulling one back in the 66th minute, when Urega shot from inside the box; the ball deflected and was heading toward the goal, but Guggesashvili, despite having already gone down, reacted impressively, got to the ball, and sent it onto the crossbar, making a great save.

In the 74th minute, PAOK increased their lead to 3-0 through Kamara. The African midfielder took advantage of Westerlo’s defensive lapse, stole the ball, and beat the opposing goalkeeper with a flawless long-range shot. Four minutes later, the same player added yet another impressive goal to his tally, as he used excellent first touch and a cool-headed left-footed finish to seal the final 4-0 score for the “Double-Headed Eagle.”

*photo source: PAOK FC / PAOK FC