It’s over: there is no longer a Belgian team in the European Cup. Ghent, the last black-yellow-red representative, was eliminated at the stage of the round of 16 of the new Conference League by PAOK Salonika. The Greek club folded but did not break in the second leg and even made profit his advantage of a goal won in the first leg by winning 1-2 in Ghent.
The people of Ghent, however, start the match with the desire to score the goal as soon as possible which would bring them level with PAOK in the two matches. Tarik Tissoudali finds itself several times in a favorable position without succeeding in concretizing.
Well folded, the PAOK holds, and finds the opening in the 20th minute following a corner. The ball drags in the Ghent area and while Davy Roef does not intervene quickly enough to avert the danger, the ball arrives at the feet of Joseph Crespo at the far post. The Spaniard finds the nets without difficulty (0-1, 20th).
Already very withdrawn at the start of the match, the Greeks further densify their defense, which further complicates the task of Ghent, while the Buffalos must now score two goals to snatch extra time.
Just before half an hour, the Ghents claimed in vain for a penalty for an unclear hand fault in the area of PAOK. There is no VAR in the Conference League and the referee remains inflexible: no hand, no penalty. But not enough to dampen the enthusiasm of Ghent. The men ofHein Vanhaezebrouck continue to push to come back to score before half-time.
The pressure pays off when Laurent Depoitre rises higher than his defender in the 40th minute. Perfectly served by Matisse Samoisethe Tournai striker places a perfect header out of reach of Paschalakis, the PAOK goalkeeper (1-1, 40th)