In the UEFA Europa League game on 13 August 2026, Anderlecht beat PAOK 3:2. Match numbers: shots on target 9:4, corners 2:8.
Match report
Anderlecht beat PAOK 3-2 at Lotto Park in the third qualifying round of the Europa League on 13 August 2026. The Belgian side had faced the Greek visitors three days earlier and won 1-0 then, but this afternoon the match ran a different course. The result keeps the hosts in contention while PAOK's European ambitions face another setback.
L. Petrot opened the scoring in the nineteenth minute, and by then the atmosphere at Lotto Park had already built. A. Živković equalised for PAOK in the thirty-fourth before L. Ambros restored Anderlecht's lead just after the interval. D. Sikan levelled again in the fifty-fifth, and then the match turned.
And here's the thing — the turning point came not from a goal but from discipline. C. Coosemans had a goal disallowed for offside in the seventy-fourth, and PAOK lost their composure after that. A. Živković received a red card in the eighty-ninth, and A. Jeremejeff scored the penalty moments later. Jeremejeff himself was sent off twice in stoppage time, which added to the chaos.
Statistically, the match told a familiar story of variance. Anderlecht registered nine shots on target against four from PAOK, yet the visitors created more big chances — four to two. PAOK held 55 per cent possession and made 434 passes, while Anderlecht completed 367 with 45 per cent. Expected goals sat at 2.12 for the hosts and 2.19 for the away side, a narrow margin that does not reflect the two-goal spread on the board.
The result leaves Anderlecht with momentum heading into the next round, while PAOK will need to regroup after a match that slipped away despite their statistical edge. The hosts have now won two of three meetings between these sides this month, and the line has barely moved in terms of qualification pressure. What matters now is whether Anderlecht can hold their nerve when the draw is made.
Prepared from match data
Key numbers
Possession, %45–55.00
Shots on target9–4
Shots off target6–6
Expected goals2.12–2.19
HT⚽19' L. Petrot — Goal⚽34' A. Zivkovic — Goal🟨43' A. Baba — Yellow card⇄46' A. Baba — Substitution⇄46' A. Mythou — Substitution⚽47' L. Ambros — Goal⚽55' D. Sikan — Goal⇄67' B. Santamaria — Substitution⇄67' Taison — Substitution74' C. Coosemans — var_goal_cancelled_-_offside⇄78' J. Nga Kana — Substitution⇄78' M. N'Diaye — Substitution⇄78' D. Sikan — Substitution🟨80' L. Ambros — Yellow card🟨82' C. Zafeiris — Yellow card⇄84' E. Llansana — Substitution⇄84' C. Zafeiris — Substitution⚽88' A. Jeremejeff — Penalty🟥89' A. Zivkovic — Red card🟨89' G. Biancone — Yellow card⇄90+2' M. Cvetkovic — Substitution🟥90+2' A. Jeremejeff — Red card🟥90+3' A. Jeremejeff — Red card🟨90+5' N. Saliba — Yellow card
