Stoiximan Super League | Championship Group, Round 5 | Wednesday, 13 May 2026 Toumba Stadium, Thessaloniki | Referee: Sven Jablonski (GER)
AEK came to Thessaloniki as champions. The trophy was already theirs. Won on Sunday in the most dramatic way possible — Joao Mario stabbing home in the 93rd minute at the Allwyn Arena to complete a comeback against Panathinaikos, scenes of chaos and joy that the Greek capital will not forget quickly.
Wednesday was meant to be a formality. A lap of honour in enemy territory. PAOK had different ideas.
The game ended 1-1. Konstantelias gave PAOK the lead and Moukoudi headed the equaliser late on. Fair enough on the night — both sides had their moments, neither deserved to lose. But for PAOK the point is nowhere near enough given what is at stake. Second place. Champions League qualification. Olympiacos are breathing down their necks and the final round is coming fast.
Going into this, PAOK were on 58 points. Olympiacos on 57. One point between them for second spot. Lose here and that lead disappears. Draw and they stay ahead — just. Lucescu’s side managed the minimum. Whether it is enough depends on what happens elsewhere on the final day.
AEK had already rotated after Sunday. Zini started — the man who came off the bench, equalised and set up the winner in the title clincher — but Pereyra dropped to the bench and the usual intensity in pressing was noticeably lower. Fair enough. You cannot ask a group of players to sustain that level of output when the job is already done. They were professional. Tidy. Competent. But not the team that had destroyed PAOK 3-0 at the Allwyn Arena back in April.
That April result — the one where Kedziora put through his own net, Koita doubled it and Pineda added a third — was still fresh in PAOK minds walking out at Toumba. This was their chance at some kind of response.
First half was tight. PAOK used the crowd. The Toumba noise was what it always is — relentless, hostile, directed at every AEK touch. Jeremejeff caused problems in the channels, running clever angles off the ball. Strakosha dealt with the one proper save he was asked to make before the break, getting down low to his left after Jeremejeff peeled off the last defender onto a long ball.
AEK’s best spell came through Pineda, who kept appearing in half-spaces and looking to feed Varga and Zini in behind. Strakosha was composed all evening — not tested heavily but alert when needed. Nine clean sheets in his last fourteen league starts tells you about the goalkeeper AEK have found in him.
Second half opened and PAOK lifted the tempo. The moment came from Konstantelias. He picked the ball up about 20 yards out, took one touch to set himself, and drilled it hard and low past Strakosha before the keeper could react. Clean finish. Exactly the kind of goal you would expect from a player who had been doing this in big moments all season — the equaliser at Karaiskakis against Olympiacos just three days earlier being the most recent example.
Toumba went absolutely wild. One-nil. Champions on the back foot. For about fifteen minutes it looked like PAOK might actually win the thing.
Then Pineda swung in a corner from the right. Moukoudi got above his man at the near post and powered it into the bottom corner. 1-1. The away end erupted. The home crowd deflated in an instant.
From that point, neither side pushed with real conviction. Jović came on for AEK late and drove one effort wide. Jeremejeff had another go blocked inside the box. Nothing came of it. Final whistle. One point each.
The title picture stays as it was. AEK champions on 66 points, PAOK second on 59, Olympiacos third on 57. Final round coming. PAOK need a result. Lucescu knows it. The whole of Thessaloniki knows it.
As for AEK — celebrated champions, leaders of Greece, heading into next season’s Champions League. One draw in a rotation-heavy game in Thessaloniki means nothing. The real story this week was already written in the 93rd minute on Sunday night.
For live Super League scores and full coverage, visit fawanews.org.uk. Full standings and final round fixtures at the official Super League Greece website.
PAOK 1-1 AEK Athens Stoiximan Super League, Championship Group Round 5 | Wednesday, 13 May 2026 Toumba Stadium, Thessaloniki | Referee: Sven Jablonski (GER)
Goals: Giannis Konstantelias (PAOK), Moukoudi 74′ header (AEK Athens, assist: Pineda corner)
PAOK (4-2-3-1): Tsiftsis; Kedziora, Rahman, Michailidis, Kenny; Zafeiris, Ozdoev; Konstantelias, Bianco, Živković; Jeremejeff
AEK Athens (4-3-3): Strakosha; Rota, Moukoudi, Relvas, Penrice; Gacinovic, Marin, Pineda; Pereyra, Varga (Jović 78′), Zini (Bicho 46′)
Standings: AEK Athens 66 pts (Champions) | PAOK 59 pts | Olympiacos 57 pts | Panathinaikos 50 pts
