Betis - last season’s UEFA Conference League runners-up - took the game to PAOK at the Stadio Toumbas in the first-ever meeting between the two sides. Nevertheless, they were unable to trouble goalkeeper Antonis Tsiftsis in the opening quarter-hour.
At the other end, Taison’s pace eventually began to trouble Angel Ortiz, whilst Giorgos Giakoumakis wasted a golden opportunity as the hosts attempted to gain a foothold.
Betis’ Chimy Avila tried his luck on a couple of occasions for Los Verdiblancos, before Aitor Ruibal registered the game’s first shot on target in the 30th minute - an effort Tsiftsis did well to get an outstretched palm to.
Taison and Baba Rahman then carved out another gilt-edged chance for Giakoumakis as half-time approached, but the Greece international again couldn’t make the most of it.
The final opening of the first half saw Pablo Garcia’s shot blocked, leaving both teams with work to do after the interval.
The second half began in much the same way as the first, with both sides struggling to control the middle of the park. The away side’s 13 shots by the hour mark seemed to evidence their growing influence on the game, but just two of those were on target and, in truth, much of the encounter had been scrappy at best.
The Spaniards were ultimately made to pay for their lack of cutting edge shortly after when a well-worked move saw PAOK captain Andrija Zivkovic power home a header at the far post.
Zivkovic then delivered an exquisite cross which was headed in by Giakoumakis, but a VAR check quickly curtailed the hosts’ celebrations.
Giakoumakis and Taison shot straight at Pau Lopez when through on goal, and after Giannis Konstantelias was upended in the area, Giakoumakis placed the penalty out of Lopez’s reach to secure the points.
The result extends PAOK’s unbeaten home streak to 23 matches (W19, D4), while this is Betis’ first defeat in seven UEL matches (W4, D2).
Both sides are still in with a chance of reaching the top eight, too, with Betis fifth and PAOK 12th ahead of the Matchday 7 fixtures.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Giorgos Giakoumakis (PAOK)
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