Anderlecht eliminates PAOK and travels to Kazakhstan
FRIDAY, 14 AUGUST 2026, 12:11 - D.A.B.
GAMES Anderlecht have booked their place in the final qualifying round of the Europa League. After winning the first leg, the purple-and-white side also proved stronger in tonight's return fixture. The final score was 3-2. A frustrated PAOK ended the match with nine men.
Anderlecht made a lively start to the game. Right-back Maamar in particular was constantly involved going forward. His cross found Cvetkovic, but the Greek goalkeeper was equal to it. A little later, Maamar himself was denied by Pavlenka. The ensuing corner did produce a goal, though. The ball was flicked on to Pétrot, who did not hesitate to make it 1-0.
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Continue reading After the opening goal, the Greeks began to push forward more. Mythou first headed wide, but after 35 minutes captain Zivkovic was able to take advantage of a marking error by N'Diaye to nod in the second ball: 1-1.
Anderlecht almost went into the break with a lead, but Sikan's free kick came back off the underside of the crossbar. Anderlecht would not be deterred. Shortly after the restart, it struck twice in quick succession with two fine goals. First, Ambros shook off two defenders with a quick movement before calmly placing the ball into the corner: 2-1. Eight minutes later, Cvetkovic chased a ball that seemed all but lost. He laid it off for Sikan, and the Ukrainian curled a beautiful effort into the far top corner: 3-1.
With a quarter of an hour to go, there was a moment of anxiety when PAOK suddenly scored, but after a VAR intervention the goal was ruled out for offside. The visitors did pull one back in the closing minutes, however. Following a corner, PAOK were awarded a penalty after Coosemans was deemed to have committed a foul. Substitute Jeremejeff made no mistake: 3-2. In the ensuing commotion, Zivkovic was shown a red card. Goal scorer Jeremejeff was also sent off a few minutes later after shouting something inappropriate at the assistant referee.
Anderlecht saw out the final seconds sensibly and can now prepare for a two-legged tie against Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan. The winner will reach the Europa League group stage, while the loser will drop into the Conference League safety net. The purple-and-white side is thus guaranteed European football this season.
