The penalty spot seemed to be on Anderlecht's side for a moment. PAOK Saloniki had the chance to level before halftime but missed their penalty. The re-take was successful, but that celebration was short-lived. As if by a bolt from the blue, it was all hands on deck again just two minutes later.
Ten minutes before the break, the PAOK stadium suddenly erupted into a frenzy. Enric Llansana's slight mistake led to a penalty for PAOK Saloniki, but Anderlecht had done their homework well. Colin Coosemans consulted his notes and substituted Michailidis, but the Greek rebound rang the bell nonetheless. 1-1 thanks to Mythou, but the Greek goal-scorer (and not only he) was too early in the sixties.
The equalizer was thus disallowed. But the fire wasn't yet extinguished. Just two minutes later, the Greeks were screaming murder and mayhem as Anderlecht defender Pétrot fouled out his man.
The referee stood firm but was called to the screen by VAR for two phases that occurred earlier and led to the Greek counter-attack. In these, Ndiaye and Sikan were incorrectly penalized, so ruled the referee.
No re-examination from the spot, though, just a foul in favor of RSCA. And a double sigh of relief.
