Footage showcasing ongoings in the stands ahead of kick-off in the Europa Conference League clash between Olympique Marseille and PAOK has begun to turn heads on Thursday evening.

This comes owing to an eye-catching back-and-forth between supporters of the two clubs at the Stade Velodrome.

First, a series of fireworks made their way from both sets of fans towards the other:

Didn’t think Marseille-PAOK was going to be a quiet night at the library but wasn’t quite expecting this either pic.twitter.com/4fmCeOmogK

— Jack Collins (@jackjcollins) April 7, 2022

The situation quickly began to spiral out of control, though, upon a flare landing and bouncing amongst the Marseille faithful:

C’est très tendu en tribunes au Vélodrome. Les supporters du PAOK jettent sièges et fumigènes.

@flogermain pic.twitter.com/jG5WEvCp38

— Actu Foot (@ActuFoot_) April 7, 2022

Chairs are also understood to have been ripped up out of the ground, before being thrown into the home stands.

Payet’s rocket

Amid otherwise ugly scenes in the south of France, however, one moment of inspiration has too piqued attentions across the globe for altogether more positive reasons.

This came on the stroke of the interval, when a training ground set-piece routine saw Dimitri Payet picked out 25 yards from goal, to unleash a stunning first-time effort into the top corner of PAOK’s net.

A late-season Puskas contender, without question…

DIMITRI PAYET ROCKET! #UECL | #OMPAOK pic.twitter.com/YPMwupLvDz

— 101 Great Goals (@101greatgoals) April 7, 2022

DIMITRI PAYET ARE YOU SERIOUS?!

ONE OF THE BEST GOALS YOU WILL SEE ALL SEASON. pic.twitter.com/486FHNrNah

— CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 7, 2022

PAOK, to their credit, have since managed to work their way back into proceedings, pulling one back early in the 2nd-half to keep themselves firmly in the tie on the back of Gerson’s early opener.

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