The Double-headed Eagle went to France having done their homework exceptionally well, with a clear plan and the desire to leave the pitch with maximum points. Without the injured Taison and Ozdoev , who were replaced by Mady Kamara and Kiril Despodov , the visitors also started with Michailidis and Chalov in the lineup.

PAOK showed their intentions early on and threatened in the sixth minute with Ozer making a difficult save. The home team responded with two shots by Pardo that found Antonis Tsiftsis more than capable of keeping the hosts out.

In the 15th minute, the first problem of the match arrived for the visitors. Mady Kamara left the pitch injured with Alessandro Bianco taking his place. Three minutes later, the goal blitz began. Andrija Zivkovic passed to Soualiho Meite and the Frenchman scored with a clinical left foot 1-0.

Before Lille could regroup and take stock of what was happening, PAOK struck again. Michailidis found A. Zivkovic with a magical ball behind the home defense. The Serb brought the ball down, entered the penalty area and with a perfect finish made it 2-0 in the 23rd minute.

Lille could not find ways to threaten, with PAOK managing the game well. Then, before the end of the first half, it was 3-0 to the visitors. In the 42nd minute Chalov found Konstantelias with a magic backheel, and the young midfielder tormented the French defense before applying a perfect finish.

It was a given that the second half would not be easy, with the home side expected to bounce back and apply some pressure, but PAOK were ready for it. Lille pressed but Tsiftsis was there for his team when needed, Razvan Lucescu’s team held on, until the 57th minute. Then, Andre headed in from a corner and made it 3-1.

The momentum was with the French, but Tsiftsis had the answers to efforts from Mpemba and Igamane, but the Lille forward found a way to score in the 67th minute with a header.

Three minutes later, Konstantelias was brought down in the penlaty area, A. Zivkovic took the resulting spot-kick but Ozer saved it. However, PAOK did not give up and four minutes later Despodov assisted for A. Zivkovic who made no mistake and made it 4-2 to PAOK.

Two minutes later, Ozer saved from Giakoumakis from close range and in the 78th minute, Igamane found the net again with an impressive strike.

The final minutes were as dramatic as they come. Fiere duels, missed chances, great saves by Tsiftsis , a goal disallowed by VAR, a sending off for Kedzioras and then finally a big celebration at the end for the PAOK players and staff, as well as the travelling fans, as they toasted a well-deserved victory.

Team lineups:

Lille: Ozer, Santos (46′ Meunier), Madi, Ngoy (46′ Mbemba), Ferdonc, Fernandez-Pardo, Sahrawi (89′ Haraldsson), Andre, Correia (61′ Giroud), Ragoubert (61′ Bouadi), Igamane.

PAOK: Tsiftsis, Kenny, Kedziora, Michailides, Baba, Kamara (16′ Bianco), Meite, Despodov (81′ Pelkas), Konstantelias, A. Zivkovic, Chalov (66′ Giakoumakis).