Greece will have no team in the Champions League group stage since 1997, as champions Olympiakos and runners-up PAOK were both eliminated in the 3rd qualifying round of the competition after their 1-0 and 2-1 defeats, respectively. Olympiakos suffered a humiliating defeat from Israeli champions Maccabi Be’er Sheva in Israel and crashed out of the competition, while PAOK threw away a 1-0 lead, which would have given him the ticket to the next stage, and lost to Dutch team Ajax 2-1 in Thessaloniki.