Early goal and Coosemans hand Anderlecht the victory
FRIDAY, 7 AUGUST 2026, 04:47 - emjomi
GAMES Anderlecht secured a good position by winning 0-1 away at PAOK. The key moments were a lightning-fast goal by Cvetkovic (after sixteen seconds!) and a penalty save by Coosemans before halftime. PAOK had constant possession, but Anderlecht played in an organized manner and held firm.
The match had barely started when Anderlecht took the lead, even faster than in Hammarby. A long ball from Coosemans was poorly cleared by PAOK, and Cvetkovic gained possession with a bit of luck. The Serbian finished cleverly and well. This must have been one of Anderlecht's fastest goals in Europe.
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Continue reading The Greeks responded immediately and pushed Anderlecht back, but they were only truly dangerous for the first time in the 27th minute on a counterattack. Meanwhile, Cvetkovic had another chance after 13 minutes, but this time he mishit his shot.
After that followed a number of tense moments involving the VAR and Coosemans. PAOK were awarded a penalty after an unnecessary foul by Llansana, but Coosemans saved the spot kick. Mythou's rebound was disallowed because PAOK players had entered the penalty area too early. Shortly afterward, PAOK appeared to be awarded another penalty, but fortunately the VAR went back to an earlier foul on N'Diaye.
In the second half, PAOK naturally kept pressing and dominated possession. Antman made his debut in the 55th minute. The Greeks attacked constantly but managed no more than a few half-chances. Anderlecht stayed organized but could no longer create much offensively. Even so, the Greeks left quite a bit of space that Anderlecht failed to exploit.
In a nervous closing phase, PAOK threatened once more, but an excellent Coosemans tipped a mishit shot over the goal. Anderlecht thus claimed a fine victory in Europe but will still have to be wary of the Greeks next week. The winner of this tie is guaranteed European football, either in the Europa League or the Conference League. After the victory, Anderlecht must quickly switch focus because the league match against La Louvière is at least as important. In the "new" league format, dropping points will carry greater consequences than in previous years.
MATCH EVENTS 90'+3: Coosemans tips PAOK's first real chance after halftime over the bar. Zafeiris mishits his shot. 90'+2: Sikan clears a dangerous cross. 86': The referee continues to officiate inconsistently. 72': Substitute Jeremejeff cannot take advantage of hesitant defending by Pétrot. 70': Degreef and Saliba replace Cvetkovic and Ambros. 65': Anderlecht need to regain some control, as the Greeks are now launching one attack after another. 65': Cvetkovic is offside, so the 0-2 does not stand. 64': Pétrot is back on the pitch. Presumably he had cramp. 62': Pétrot has to go off with an injury. Saliba will come on, and Kana drops back a line. 55': Michailidis is dangerous, but his cross is not touched by anyone. 55': Antman replaces Onia Seke. 52': Cvetkovic makes a poor pass to Onia Seke. There was more in that opportunity. 46': Anderlecht need to make better use of the space PAOK leave by playing less sloppily. They also have to be careful of the Greeks, who are only too eager to draw another penalty.
HALFTIME 45'+5: Sikan sets up Onia Seke. A PAOK player handles the ball, but we go into halftime. 45'+4: PAOK header over the goal. 45'+2: Llansana receives the ball in the penalty area, but his first touch is poor and he cannot get a shot away. 44': Anderlecht have been playing very sloppily since the free kick, with a lot of clumsy turnovers. 41': Chance for Anderlecht at the far post, but Pavlenka just manages to get a hand to it. 40': VAR decides it is a free kick for Anderlecht and not a penalty. 37': Is the ball going to the spot again? Pétrot commits a foul, but the VAR checks an earlier possible foul on N'Diaye. 34': Anderlecht escape. Coosemans saves the penalty, Mythou scores the rebound. However, the goal is disallowed. Players from PAOK (and Anderlecht) had already entered the penalty area. 33': Penalty for PAOK after contact with Llansana. A foolish move by the Dutchman, who clips his opponent's standing leg. 31': Taison shoots again, but this time well wide. 30': Cvetkovic waits too long to play Maamar in. 27: The Greeks are dangerous on a counterattack. Taison shoots just wide. PAOK's best chance so far. 17': Coosemans catches a tricky cross from Konstantelias. 13': Another good chance for Cvetkovic. Sikan picks him out well, but the shot is mishit. 11': Llansana escapes an early yellow card. 8': Mistake by Kana, but the shot is blocked. 5': Sikan plays the ball behind Cvetkovic, just as he did last week in the second half. 2': PAOK respond with a mishit shot. 16": 0-1! PAOK fail to clear a long ball from Coosemans. The ball falls fortunately to Cvetkovic, who scores cleverly. This must be one of the fastest goals ever for the Purple and White.
