PAOK beats Aris 2-0 at Toumba through Ndiaye and Zivkovic goals

First-half breakthrough

PAOK secured a 2-0 victory against city rivals Aris at Toumba Stadium in the fourth round of the Stoiximan Super League. Head coach Alessio Lisci altered his lineup following a previous loss to Panathinaikos, handing defender Costa his club debut alongside Giannis Michailidis. The visiting side started with greater possession and threatened first in the 14th minute when Tino Kadewere directed a header toward the net from a corner kick, forcing goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka into a goal-line save before Fabiano sent the rebound over the crossbar. PAOK settled into the contest and broke the deadlock past the half-hour mark. In the 28th minute, a shot by Senegalese forward Cherif Ndiaye struck the arm of Aris defender Fabiano inside the penalty box. Following an on-field review recommended by VAR official Marco Di Bello, Italian referee Andrea Colombo awarded a spot kick, which Ndiaye converted into the center of the net in the 32nd minute for his first league goal of the campaign.

Doubling the advantage

Aris sought an immediate equalizer when Uros Racic delivered a diagonal pass to Jensen in the 35th minute, but Pavlenka stopped the resulting effort. PAOK maintained attacking pressure through Dimitris Pelkas and Taison, expanding the lead shortly before the interval. In the 42nd minute, Christos Zafeiris played the ball wide to Taison, who delivered a cross from the left wing into the heart of the penalty area. The ball took deflections off Fabiano and goalkeeper Ricardo Velho before falling to Andrija Zivkovic, who finished into an open net from close range to establish a two-goal cushion.

Second-half control and missed chances

PAOK opened the second half on the front foot and nearly added a third goal five minutes after the restart. In the 50th minute, Zafeiris saw his deflected shot turned away by Velho, and Zivkovic sent the immediate follow-up against the post. Pelkas and Kristijan Jakic created additional scoring opportunities for the hosts, but Velho gathered another effort on the goal line. Aris attempted to alter the scoreline with late attacking efforts, yet their chances remained limited. Fabiano sent an off-target header in the 73rd minute, Giannis Gianniotas saw an effort cleared in the 76th minute, and a turning strike from Loren Moron in the 80th minute drifted narrowly wide of the post.

Officiating dispute and standings

The encounter was marked by disputes over refereeing decisions, prompting Aris to issue an official statement during the match. The visiting club criticized referee Andrea Colombo for not issuing red cards to Jonjoe Kenny and Zafeiris following challenges on Gianniotas and Racic, while also asserting that a foul occurred on goalkeeper Velho prior to the penalty incident. Kenny had received a yellow card in the 3rd minute, followed by bookings for Zafeiris in the 20th minute and Kadewere in the 25th minute. The victory moves PAOK into second place in the Greek Super League standings on 9 points from four matches, rebounding from their defeat against Panathinaikos. Aris remains in seventh place with 6 points after suffering back-to-back league defeats against AEK and PAOK.