Article by Maria Olteanu – Published Sunday, April 19, 2026, 8:06 p.m. / Updated Sunday, April 19, 2026, 8:07 p.m.
Tonight was the title derby in the first Greek league, where AEK AthensRăzvan Marin's team, received it on its own ground on PAOKteam trained by Răzvan Lucescu. The hosts won 3-0 and took a serious option to win the championship.
At the moment, AEK is the leader in the Greek championship with 66 points. On the other hand, for PAOK the match was extremely important in the fight for the title. Răzvan Lucescu's students were 8 points behind their opponents after the game, with 4 matches left to play until the end of the season, and the mission is almost impossible.
For Răzvan Lucescu, this was the first match after the family tragedy, when his father, the legendary Mircea Lucescu, died on April 7, at the age of 80.
PAOK almost lost the title tonight
In a suffocating atmosphere, in an archipelago stadium, AEK Atena, with Răzvan Marin in great form, won the derby with PAOK, who gave way too easily in defense, to the despair of Răzvan Lucescu, who did not find the necessary solutions for the comeback.
The hosts were fortunate and opened the scoring in the 37th minute, capitalizing on a PAOK error when Kedziora beat his teammate with a header in an attempted clearance. Before the break, AEK scored one more time, but the goal was cancelled.
In the second half, on a pitch full of confetti, AEK, pressed by PAOK, who ended the second half with 71% possession, scored twice more in the last quarter of an hour. Koita scored in the 74th minute and Pineda set the final score 6 minutes later.
In the 87th minute, PAOK came close to reducing the deficit, but Camara's header was deflected onto the crossbar. It ended 3-0 for the hosts, a result that brings AEK closer to the title, with 4 matches left to play, while for Răzvan Lucescu's team the title becomes almost impossible to “access”.
Greece play-off standings
Source: Flashscore.ro
FINAL » AEK – PAOK 3-0
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Click HERE for more details and statistics about the match
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They scored: Kedziora 37 (own goal), Koita 74, Pineda 80
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AEK Athens made it 2-0 in the 45th minute, but the goal was disallowed for an attacking foul
AEK – PAOK, the starting teams
AEK Athens: Strakosha – Rota, Relvas, Mukundi, Penrice – Gacinovic, R. Marin, Pineda, Pereyra – Varga, Zini
Reserves: Brignoli, Georgiev, Grujic, J. Mario, Jovic, Kaloskamis, Koita, Kutesa, Ljubicic, Pilios, Sahabo, Vida
Coach: Marko Nikolic
PAOK: Tsiftsis – Sanchez, Kedziora, Lovren, Baba – Ozdoev, Zafeiris – Chatsidis, Konstantelias, Taison – Jeremejeff
Reserves: Bianco, Camara, Ivanusec, Kenny, Meite, Michailidis, Mythou, Pavlenka, Pelkas, Taylor, Vogliacco, Zivkovic
Coach: Răzvan Lucescu
