The “Trifylli” delivered an historic night for its supporters as they reigned supreme in an action-packed clash with Fiorentina, giving them hope of advancing into the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League (UECL).
Panathinaikos defeated the Violets 3-2 at the Olympic Stadium on Friday morning to seize the advantage in the first leg of their UECL Round of 16 tie.
The Greens shocked everyone when they took the lead in the sixth minute via a fantastic first-time strike by marksman Karol Swiderski from the edge of the box into the top right, much to the delight of the home fans.
The supporters went into a frenzy shortly after when midfielder Nemanja Maksimovic pounced on a spilled ball by goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano and tapped it home (19′), doubling their lead and instilling early thoughts of a great victory.
Panathinaikos was brought back down to earth within five minutes of going two goals up as Fiorentina managed to level up the contest.
Their first goal came one minute after Maksimovic’s tap-in after wing back Robin Gosens sent a cross into the box for forward Lucas Beltran to head into the net (20′).
It was followed up with another goal in the 23rd minute that was again assisted by Gosens, passing it this time to Nicolo Fagioli whose shot took a slight deflection on its way into the bottom left.
The hosts emerged from the break ready to regain the lead, which they managed to do in the 55th minute when winger Filip Djuricic delivered a perfectly weighted pass to fellow attacker Tete that he then slotted into the bottom left corner.
The Greens demonstrated great discipline to hang onto their lead this time, ensuring themselves of a goal advantage ahead of next week’s second leg in Florence.
Olympiacos is on the brink of a Europa League exit following a 3-0 away loss in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie with Bodo/Glimt.
The Norwegian outfit went ahead in the 13th minute after a corner header by defender Jostein Gundersen hit the crossbar and deflected off goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis into the net.
The home side increased their lead right before the break after Ole Didrik Blomberg gave a grounded ball across goal towards striker Kasper Høgh, who guided it in from point-blank range (45′).
Høgh then popped up with another tap-in in the 55th minute, assisted this time by Fredrik Bjørkan, to put the game (and likely the tie) to bed.
Pafos has taken a crucial step towards making the UECL quarter-finals after downing Djurgardens 1-0 at home in their first leg.
The Cypriot side owed the victory to a 65th minute goal from Muamer Tankovic, who hit the ball home from tap-in range, setting them up well for the deciding fixture next week.
