Article by Aurelian Botezatu – Published Monday, February 16, 2026, 08:29 / Updated Monday, February 16, 2026 08:30
PAOKthe team prepared by Răzvan Lucescu, drew 0-0 with the leader AEK Athensin which Răzvan Marin was an integralist.
For PAOK's coach, it was the second consecutive draw in the championship, after 0-0 with Aris, which still keeps him in the last position of the podium, 3 points behind the leader AEK. Lucescu is not worried, however, given that his team also has one less contested match.
Răzvan Lucescu: “I saw a burdened team, like PAOK, against a fresher one, like AEK”
In the end, he praised his players, who are coming after a series of 4 tough matches, if we also take into account the duels with Panathinaikos in the Cup (1-0, 2-0) and appreciated that the penalty missed by Giakoumakis, in the 12th minute, weighed a lot in the psychology of the game.
“It was a difficult match. We had a lot of derbies in the last few days, while the opponents had all the time to prepare the match. The effort is very high. I'm proud of my players, they keep fighting and never give up“, said Lucescu junior.
He had to make several changes to the starting eleven due to numerous injuries (Konstantelias, Despodov, Pelka, Ivanusec) and also lost Meite during the game: “Meite had a problem for a while and was not 100% ready. I saw a burdened team like PAOK against a fresher one like AEK. I really appreciate the team's effort with so many games to play.”
Răzvan Lucescu: “In such duels, the details make the difference”
Even under the conditions of so many unavailabilities, Răzvan believes that things would have been different if Giakoumakis had not missed that penalty in the beginning of the match at “Toumba”.
“In such duels, the details make the difference. The missed penalty cost us psychologically, AEK gained confidence. We had a lot of discussions about the fact that these matches are decided in one phase and you have to be prepared for that,” Răzvan said.
