Thessaloniki club PAOK continued its impressive home form in the Europa League qualifiers with a 5-0 routing of Danish club Brondby on Thursday night.
The result means PAOK looks certain to book a spot in the Europa League proper, making next week’s return leg in Denmark a mere formality.
The star of the night was Slovakian Rober Mak who scored a hat-trick. Garry Rodrigues and Dimitris Pelkas netted the games other goals.
PAOK’s Croatian coach started the game with a 3-5-2 formation that certainly highlighted his team’s strength in midfield and both he and the club’s loyal supporters must be encouraged by the team’s improvement over recent week, especially with the beginning of the Greek Super League today.
In Athens, Atromitos were extremely unfortunate to lose 0-1 to Turkish giants Fenerbache, with former Manchester United striker Robin van Persie came off the bench to score the winner.
Atromitos held their own for most of the game but has a lot to do next week in Istanbul if it hopes to progress to the group stage.
Fellow former Manchester United team-mate Nani was named in a strong starting eleven for Fenerbache against the Greek side but they struggled to find a way past Atromitos goalkeeper Andrey Gorbunov.
He made several outstanding saves while Atromitos had their own chances though, twice going close through Stefano Napoleoni, but even the introduction of former Liverpool striker Anthony Le Tallec couldn’t see them grab a vital goal.
In the end the hosts were left to rue those missed chances as Van Persie headed home, leaving the small but vocal home support disappointed.
The third Greek team involved in the play-offs is Panathinaikos who had a night they will wish to forget as they drew 0-0 against unknown Azerbaijan side Qabala.
The result leaves PAO in the box seat to advance and they should be able to win at home in Athens next Thursday.