PAOK snatched a vital away goal and a 1-1 draw against Schalke, with Miroslav Stoch the hero for the second-chance Greeks. Only in the competition because Metalist Kharkiv was tossed, PAOK never backed off against the favored Germans.
When Stoch was allowed far too much room to advance down the inside left channel, his long-range shot beat Tino Hildebrand for the second-half 73rd-minute equalizer.
Schalke, never truly able to dictate matters in front of the home fans, had led from a Jefferson Farfan goal in the 32nd minute, the Peruvian striker accepting a smart pass from Adam Szalai after Julian Draxler had a shot blocked. Schalke could have won it in the final 10 minutes, but PAOK keeper Jacobo denied Benedikt Howedes' point-blank after the Schalke defender got clean through on goal.
Dinamo Zagreb lost to Austria Wien 2-0 at home and will be without Ante Rukavina in the next leg after he was ejected with 20 minutes to play for a nasty foul on Kaja Rogulj. Marko Stankovic scored one of the goals of the day, a sweetly hit left-footed drive to seal the game, and likely, the tie.
Ludogorets put on a brave show for nearly an hour, but Basel finally overwhelmed them 4-2 on the road in a wild game at Sofia. Mohamed Salah scored twice for the Swiss, while Fabian Schar got one from the spot after Junior Caicara was ejected for a last-man foul late. Marcelinho and Ivan Stoyanov scored for the Bulgarians.
And finally, Legia Warsaw take a goal back to Poland after a hard-fought 1-1 draw in Bucharest. Federico Piovaccari’s insouciant chip in the first half gave Steaua a deserved lead, but Jakub Kosecki’s goal right after the start of the second half gives the Poles the edge.
The Champions League playoffs continue with the return legs next Tuesday on FOX Sports 1, starting at 2 p.m. ET.
