ECL-QF-L2: PAOK - Club Brugge (18.04.24, 22:00 EEST)

[PAOKARA]

We have not even come close to having a chance let alone scoring, and they could have already scored 4/5. Is anyone surprised?

 

[Blackhawk]

Our midfield is very slow getting back when we lose the ball and that exposes our defense. That's how the two goals happened. The European dream ends today.

Let's hope to close the European campaign on a positive note. Give Vieirinha his last European game and throw in Konstantelias and Tzimas to get the European feel. 

[Dutch Eagle]

Halftime subs: Andrija and Samatta replacing Murg and Brandon. 

Must score an early goal if we want to achieve something.

[Dutch Eagle]

Ozdoyev subbed in for Meïte.

[Blackhawk]

Meite was our worst player today.

[Dutch Eagle]

Penalty!

[Blackhawk]

I think Despodov was offside

[Dutch Eagle]

VAR says it was offside first. ....

[Dutch Eagle]

Weak header Despodov.

[Dutch Eagle]

Konstantelias subbed in for Despodov. 

[Dutch Eagle]

FT 0-2. Aggregate 0-3. 

That was our European season. Only our fans showed up today. 

[Blackhawk]

Let's face it. We lost to a much better team. We did not have any answers to their superior play.

Time to focus on our last goal this season and that is the championship.

[Tahma]

that was a poor performance over both legs.. i knew after the first 15 mins of the 2nd leg what type of game it would be

[Soprano76]

Hey, I remember those threads early in the season where there was little hope for this team. They definitely exceed expectations and made some huge European memories. 

[paokarag4]

8 hours ago, Soprano76 said:

Hey, I remember those threads early in the season where there was little hope for this team. They definitely exceed expectations and made some huge European memories. 

Definitely on the whole, the run in Europe has been a success.

It is just bitterly disappointing to lose in the manner which we did. No fight or passion shown, no real chances created over 180 minutes of football. The fact that Brugge came with so many starters out and still completely controlled the game speaks volume for how much better they were. Taison (at times), was the only player on the pitch who looked like he could cut it at that level. 

Again, you can lose to a better team. It's the way we lost which stings the most. 

 

[Dutch Eagle]

We must be proud. Good performance for a club like PAOK if we look at the "foodchain" in Europe.

This elimination was hard to digest. Would be harder if we were 1-0 up and they score the 1-1 in 90+4' or 120+2' though. 

[pash]

Pathetic game. Could tell within a few minutes that we would be playing exactly like we did in Brugge. Couldn't string a few passes together to save our lives.

[Blackhawk]

Lucescu should have not played players that were sick (Meite, Baba, Konstantelias, etc.). They could hardly run and at time they were just walking, specially Meite.

The other thing we needed was luck. We did not have any. Both their goals were close to being offside (VAR needed) and our one chance to score with a penalty was also offside (again VAR decision). Basically nothing was going our way yesterday.

Time to regroup and finish the season on a positive note. 

[Athens4]

They were the better team in both matches. We don't run enough and we don't release the ball quick enough.

[Bananas]

This match up was a good thing either way.  It's matches like these that let you know what level you're at.  We were not unlucky.  We were beaten by a better team.  If we played them again, the result would be the same.  In a way, this is better than losing by 1 goal and then we delude ourselves into thinking we're better than we are.  Even I was having visions of grandeur of making it to the final.

So, what does it all mean?  It means if the club wants to be able to go toe to toe against teams like Club Brugge we need to improve the quality of the squad.  Maybe that's not possible due to finances or difficulty in getting quality players to play in Greece.  Either way, we had a very good run in Europe so overall I'm pleased and not feeling dirty about losing to a better opponent.