The game was played in a sombre atmosphere following the tragic news that seven PAOK supporters lost their lives in a road traffic accident on Tuesday on their way to the game. The away end was closed off as a mark of respect, while a minute's silence was held before kick off as the home fans displayed a banner reading, ‘pain has no colours, rest in peace’.
Given the circumstances, there was an understandable muted celebration when Giorgos Giakoumakis put the visitors ahead in the 20th minute, steering the ball home from Andrija Živković’s driven cross following a neat short-corner routine.
Lyon, who were already guaranteed a top-eight spot, were only behind for just under 15 minutes before Rémi Himbert levelled the scoreline with his first senior goal. After collecting the ball on the left side of the box, the 17-year-old cleverly shifted the ball onto his right foot before steering a composed finish beyond Antonis Tsiftsis.
The visitors’ hopes of last-16 qualification were then dealt another setback when Giannis Konstantelias was given his marching orders for two bookable offences, picking up his second yellow for a needless challenge on Mathys De Carvalho.
Another Lyon prospect took centre-stage within the first 10 minutes of the second period, with Khalis Merah showing the calmness of a seasoned attacker to collect the ball in the box and fire a right-foot shot in off the far post.
The 18-year-old’s first Lyon goal looked to have put the hosts in complete control, but to the credit of 10-man PAOK, they showed great character to level the scoreline through Soualiho Meïté, who rose high to power a header home from Živković’s outswinging corner.
The Greek side looked set to leave the Parc Olympique Lyonnais with a point when Karabec thumped his penalty against the woodwork following Giannis Michailidis’ unfortunate foul.
However, Karabec soon made amends for his miss, prodding a well-taken 88th-minute effort past the goalkeeper before Gomes added a fourth with his first senior goal in stoppage time to drop PAOK down to 17th spot.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Adam Karabec (Lyon)