PAOK defeated Panetolikos 1:3 in the Superleague 1 Regular Season round five at Panetolikos Stadium on 20 September 2026. The visitors took all three points despite hosting the match, extending their strong start to the campaign.
The opening twenty minutes produced little incident before the breakthrough came at the half-hour mark. Taha Ali found the net in the thirty-third minute to give PAOK the lead, and Cherif Ndiaye doubled the advantage six minutes later. Gustav Granath collected a yellow card for Panetolikos at thirty minutes, while Konstantinos Thymianis went offside with a booking at forty. By then the hosts were chasing the game.
Diego Esteban made it three in the fifty-first minute, capitalising on space behind the defence. PAOK brought on Jiří Pavlenka, Aritz Elustondo and Dimitrios Pelkas in a triple substitution at seventy-three minutes, while Panetolikos responded with changes of their own. Marvelous Nakamba and Yannis Anastasiou both received yellow cards in the second half for the hosts.
Shola Shoretire added a fourth goal in ninety minutes and eight seconds, running onto a loose ball to seal the result. The visitors had already removed themselves from danger by that stage, though they continued to press for a cleaner sheet. Diego Esteban picked up a second yellow card at eighty-one minutes before being substituted.
Panetolikos dominated possession at fifty-six per cent but could only muster one shot on target from two attempts inside the area. PAOK created two big chances and registered thirteen key passes despite having forty-four per cent of the ball. The visitors recorded five shots on target compared to the hosts' single effort, and their accuracy rate of thirty-three per cent told the story of efficiency over volume.
The result moves PAOK into second place with twelve points from five games, three ahead of Panetolikos who sit sixth with nine. The visitors had lost just once in their previous five matches before this campaign, while Panetolikos dropped points against Panathinaikos in their last outing.
