Article by Aurelian Botezatu – Published on Monday, 04 May 2026, 07:59 / Updated on Monday, 04 May 2026 08:01
PAOK, the team coached by Răzvan Lucescu, defeated the champion Olympiakos 3-1 and moved to 2nd place in the ranking.
Răzvan Lucescu got over the shock of losing the Greek Cup well. And after the boss Ivan Savvidis confirmed him in the position for the next season as well, the Romanian technician came to beat the reigning champion, Olympiakos: 3-1.
Răzvan Lucescu: “It's not easy to get among the teams in Athens”
It was a comforting victory after so much suffering, especially as PAOK took a step towards the Champions League qualifiers. And this was also felt in the tone of the Romanian technician, who at the press conference presented PAOK as a stronghold in front of the dominance of the teams from Athens.
“Looking at PAOK's history in the last 8-9 years, in trophies, we have achieved a lot in the last few years. Titles, finals, Europe. We have reached the Cup final three times. We understand and are sorry that we lost this year's final the way we did. But we are there all the time.
It is not easy to get among the teams in Athens. We are always there to break their dominance, being constantly in the finals, in the fight for the championship”, said Lucescu jr to Greek journalists, at the press conference after the match.
Răzvan Lucescu: “We all did what we had to in a complicated week”
Then, Răzvan also spoke about the week he left behind and how PAOK recovered from the shock of losing the Cup, in the final against OFI Creta (1-3): “I can say that it was not an easy week at all. Very complicated. Step by step, we all did what we had to do in this situation.
From speeches to explanations and how to react. A real interpretation of what happened in Volos, but also of what awaits us. There were players who didn't play as much as they would have liked today, but all week they contributed to this result and we were able to react.”
After a long time, we taste the joy of victory and prepare for the next match. Let's correct our mistakes. We definitely want to win the championship, but we have to pick up the game and see what the rest of the games have in store for us
Răzvan Lucescu, PAOK coach
