Player Ratings: PAOK Salonika 0-1 Fiorentina

Date: 23rd October 2014 at 9:07pm
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PAOK Salonika lost 1-0 to Fiorentina at the Stadio Toumbas on Thursday evening, in Group K of the Europa League.

Juan Manuel Vargas netted the winner for the Viola and struck the post later on, before the Serie A side claimed a good win by standing firm in the face of some Greek pressure.

PAOK

Panagiotis Glykos – 7 – Unlucky

Started off with a shaky moment but became better as the game went by. Made a good save from a dipping effort from distance, and was unlucky with Fiorentina’s goal as he made the initial save. Also made a few good stops late on to keep PAOK in the game.

Ioannis Skondras – N/A

Was forced off the field very early on through injury.

Miguel Vitor – 6 – Solid

Looked comfortable, and had a good hold on Vargas who despite the goal didn’t enjoy too much space.

Giorgos Katsikas – 5.5 – Pairing

Was the other centre-back, and was still pretty comfortable. Was faced with Cuadrado’s searing pace late on but pushed him out wide.

Razvan Rat – 6.5  – Wandering

The left-back is actually PAOK’s joint second highest scorer this season, and showed why with his positioning. At times was once of the Greek side’s most advanced players, and deputised well in defence when needed.

Theofanis Tzandaris – 5 – Unavailing

Was part of a midfield trio who together played quite well, but couldn’t link up with the attack with much significance.

Alexandros Tziolis – 5 – Passing

His passing game was mostly quite good, but never really spurred the team on to make attacking movements.

Ergys Kace – 5 – Tried

Tried his best to get the midfield moving in sync with the attack but was relatively fruitless in doing so.

Dimitris Salpingidis – 4.5 – Ineffective

Found very little space in behind the Fiorentina backline, so suffered greatly. Was reduced to a potshot from distance out of desperation. Won a few free-kicks and corners which made him slightly more involved than his teammates.

Stefanos Athanasiadis – 4.5 – Profitless

Produced some nice touches and passes but his attempts went unused by his fellow forwards.

Fernando Pereyra – 3.5 – Unproductive

Added very little to the Greek attack down the middle and was duly subbed.

Substitutes

Stelios Kitsiou – 4 – Early

Was a very early substitute but didn’t fit in very well against Fiorentina’s quick attacking play.

Eyal Golasa – 5 – Impact

Looked to make an instant impact and had a deflected shot easily gathered by the Viola goalkeeper.

Dimitrios Papadopoulos – N/A

Fiorentina

Ciprian Tatarusanu – 6 – Untroubled

The PAOK attack gave the goalkeeper very little to deal with. Made simple stops from Salpingidis and Kace.

Micah Richards – 6.5 – Strong

Was strong on his right-side, allowing little room for the opposition to manoeuvre. Had that extra yard of pace just in case.

Nenad Tomovic – 6.5 – Improved

The defender’s passing was at times dangerously atrocious, but made up for it with some good tackling in the second half.

Jose Maria Basanta – 7 – Stable

Made a mistake in the first half, but put in a very solid shift overall. Closed down quickly and didn’t let PAOK’s dangerous attackers wriggle free.

Manuel Pasqual – 6 – Quiet

Produced a well-timed block but wasn’t called into action all that often, out on the left side of defence.

Jasmin Kurtic – 6.5 – Dangerous

Tested the goalkeeper with two drives from distance, and came within a whisker of killing the game off with just over 10 minutes to go. Staked his claim for a regular spot in the team.

Milan Badelj – 6 – Inconsistent

Had a pop from long-range, but was inconsistent in his defensive duties. Gave away a needless foul but conversely was adequate with his tackling work.

Borja Valero – 7.5 – Precise

Was helpful in instigating attacks and setting up chances, in a fine display. Teed up Vargas with a teasing low cross, but the striker struck the woodwork. May well have had a couple of assists had the attacking play been more incisive.

Josip Ilicic – 7 – Deft

Provided a perfectly weighted ball for Vargas’s goal, giving the Peruvian a clear sight of goal. Forced a good save from the PAOK goalkeeper with 25 minutes left on the clock.

Filippo Bernardeschi – 4 – Disappointing

A really poor performance from the Viola youngster, who spurned a couple of good chances early on. Still relatively new to the first team so this off-day won’t be too worrying for Fiorentina.

Juan Manuel Vargas – 7.5 – Troubling

Released the pressure by persisting to score the winner, after having his initial shot well saved by the goalkeeper. Struck the post with a difficult shot later on. Produced a magnificent pull-back to give Kurtic the chance to score.

Substitutes

Juan Cuadrado – 7 – Speedy

His electric pace increased the intensity of Fiorentina’s attack, and contributed largely to the move which saw the woodwork struck. Assisted an Ilicic shot which was saved.

Andrea Lazarri – 4 – Fill

Filled Valero’s role in midfield to a basic extent. Looked to play simple passes and didn’t contribute to the attacking play often.

Marko Marin – N/A

Marko Marin is alive and well, but didn’t have enough time to impress in his first appearance for the club.

 

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