PAOK grabbed their second win in as many Europa League games on Thursday, beating Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 at the Toumba Stadium but Aris were not able to make it a Thessaloniki double, losing 2-1 to Rosenborg in Norway.

AEK’s start to the season went from bad to worse as they were beaten 4-2 by Zenit St Petersburg in Russia in their second Europa League group game.

Despite not playing particularly well, PAOK were able to follow up their point at Club Bruges with all three against their Croatian opponents thanks to a second-half Vladan Ivic goal.

Ivic ghosted in at the far post to poke home a Pablo Garcia free kick in the 57th minute.

The result came as a relief to coach Pavlos Dermitzakis who has seen his side make an inconsitent start to the season.

We wanted this win a lot, both for the points but also because any home win gives you a psychological boost,” he said. “As you know, we haven’t been doing so well lately but this will push us on to do better.”

PAOK certainly needed that boost ahead of their Super League game against local rivals Aris this weekend.

The Yellows returned from chilly Trondheim with no points. Carlos Ruiz had managed to level at 1-1 just before half time but Hector Raul Cuper’s men could not build on that.

“I’m bitter about the result although I though we played well in the first half,” said the Argentinean. “In the second half we played too deep.”

Cuper, who has been linked with a switch to Panathinaikos, said that he has a contract at Aris until next June and is committed to the club.

AEK’s start to the season went from bad to worse on Thursday as they were beaten 4-2 by Zenit St Petersburg in Russia in their second Europa League group game.

Without a manager since Dusan Bajevic quit following the Super League defeat to Olympiakos Volou on Sunday, AEK got off to the worse possible start in the -4C conditions, conceding a goal in the opening minute to a long range thunderbolt from Tomas Hubocan.

Caretaker manager Christoforos Kola could barely look as former AEK player Bruno Alves made it 2-0 in the 14th minute as he met a corner with a thumping header.

Nikos Liberopoulos gave AEK some brief hope in the 38th minute when he made it 2-1 with a fine curling shot from the edge of the area but this was dashed six minutes later when Cristian Nasuti was sent off for pulling back a Zenit player when he was the last man.

Danko Lazovic scored from the spot but AEK felt aggrieved that a handball by the Russians before Nasuti’s foul had not been spotted.

The Serbian Lazovic added a second in the 58th minute. AEK were able to restore some respectability to the scoreline when Pantelis Kafes struck home a penalty with less than 10 minutes left after Papa Bouba Diop was brought down.

In the other game in Group G, Hajduk Split beat Anderlecht 1-0, which means AEK is in second place with a superior goal difference to the Croats.

However, more significantly, the heavy loss in Russia is a further blow to a club that has seen all its morale evaporate in an alarmingly short period of time.

Finding a new manager is now a priority for the Yellows. Former Sevilla manager Manolo Jimenez appears to be the frontrunner but Georgia coach and former AEK winger Temuri Ketsbaia has also been linked to the vacancy at the Athens club.