Greek soccer giants Olympiacos and PAOK triumphed on Thursday night advancing to the last 8 of Europa Conference League and dreaming of a place in the final of the UEFA competition that will be held in Athens.
PAOK thrashed Dinamo Zagreb 5-1 in Toumba and overturned its 2-0 deficit from seven nights earlier.
The Thessaloniki team had already secured a 3-0 score from the first half, with goals from Abdul Baba Rahman, Brandon Thomas and an own goal from Petar Sucic.
Dinamo pulled one back early in the second half through Arber Hoxha, but could not contain the Greeks, who scored again via Kostas Koulierakis and Andrija Zivkovic for a famous result.
Olympiacos produced an even more spectacular recovery, as it managed to follow up its 4-1 home loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv with a 6-1 triumph in the away leg in Serbia in extra time.
Just like PAOK, Olympiacos led 3-0 at half-time courtesy of Daniel Podence, Kostas Fortounis and Ayoub El Kaabi.
A penalty kick by Eran Zahavi temporarily reduced the arrears for the hosts who played their home games at Backa Topola, before El Kaabi restored the Reds’ three-goal lead on the night.
With the final score at 4-1 after 90 minutes, the game went to extra time, where Olympiacos extended its dominance. Sasa Jovetic and Youssef El Arabi were on target for the Reds to seal their qualification to the last eight.
Hundreds of Olympiacos fans gathered at the Athens Airport in the early hours of Friday to welcome back and celebrate their beloved team:
ΟΜΑΔΑ ΚΑΙ ΚΟΣΜΟΣ ΕΝΑ!
pic.twitter.com/kNBH1p821J
— Olympiacos FC (@olympiacosfc) March 15, 2024
The draw for the quarterfinals of the Conference League is taking place on Friday.
PAOK and Olympiacos protagonists in Greek soccer
PAOK and Olympiacos are also contenders for the title in Greece’s Super League, along with AEK Athens and Panathinaikos.
The Thessaloniki club was established on 20 April 1926 by Greek refugees who fled to Thessaloniki from Constantinople in the wake of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), they play their home games at Toumba Stadium, a 29,000 seating capacity football ground.
PAOK is the only Greek team that has more wins than losses in their European record (89 wins, 65 draws and 76 defeats, as of 14 December 2023). It has won the top spot in the Greek Super League three times.
Olympiacos founded on 10 March 1925, is the most successful club in Greek football history, having won 47 League titles, 28 Cups (18 Doubles) and 4 Super Cups, all records.
Τotalling 79 national trophies, Olympiacos is 9th in the world in total titles won by a football club.
The UEFA Europa Conference League is the third tier of continental club football in Europe. The winners of the competition are awarded a position in the Europa League the following season, unless they qualify for the Champions League.