All three of Greece’s clubs failed to score a clear advantage in their third qualifying round ties in UEFA’s club competitions, with each club playing out a hard-fought draw to set up some box office clashes in next week’s second leg fixtures.
Panathinaikos had arguably the hardest opponent on paper as they took on Shakhtar Donetsk at Olympic Stadium on Friday morning (AEST) in the first leg of their Europa League tie, securing a 0-0 draw.
Chances fell to both teams throughout the clash, but it was the valiant and (at times) desperate defending from the two sides that stood out most.
Both teams’ goalkeepers stood up in the moments they were required to ensure neither club could take a lead into the second leg, which promises to be a most interesting spectacle.
PAOK opened its European qualifying campaign with a goalless draw of their own against Wolfsberg at “Toumba” Stadium, failing to seal an advantage in their tie ahead of the second leg in Austria.
The Thessaloniki outfit now faces the challenge of upsetting their opponents at their home ground which, if they succeed, will guarantee they qualify for the League Phase in one of UEFA’s club competitions this term.
AEK fell victim to a spirited comeback from Aris Limassol as they played out a 2-2 draw in Cyprus in the opening leg of their Conference League, setting up a grandstand finish in Athens next week.
Enosi stormed into a two-goal lead inside the opening 15 minutes, thanks to efforts from Roberto Pereyra (9′) and Filipe Relvas (14′).
Remarkably, the frenetic pace continued as the hosts halved the deficit soon after in the 14th minute through Andronikos Kakoullis before Connor Goldson made it all square again in the 31st minute.
AEK will be disappointed to have coughed up a two-goal lead, which has established a most exciting do-or-die clash at “Agia Sophia” Stadium that will bring a swift end to one of the two sides’ European campaigns.
AEK Larnaca fared much better than their Hellenic counterparts in the Europa League as they secured an excellent 4-1 home victory against Legia Warszawa to strongly boost their chances of guaranteeing European football this season.
The home side opened the scoring in the 16th minute via Pere Pons, though it was swiftly neutralised by the Polish club in the 18th minute through Jean-Pierre Nsame.
The Larnaca club restored their lead soon after the break, thanks to a goal from Karol Angielski, and this time they preserved it and even built on it later on through Yerson Chacon (78′) and Angel Garcia (85′).
The visitors’ night took another unfortunate turn right at the death when Bartosz Kapustka received a second booking that will see him suspended from the second leg.
Omonia has all but ensured their place in the Conference League play-offs after scoring a 0-4 away triumph over Araz Naxcivan.
The Nicosia side dominated the game with two goals in each half, with the protagonist of the first period being Loizos Loizou as he bagged himself a brace with strikes in the 13th and 22nd minute respectively.
Ewandro made it three in the 55th minute before striker Stevan Jovetic put the game (and essentially the tie) to bed with a fourth and final goal three minutes later.
Pafos had earlier taken a big step forward in their Champions League ambitions after earning an impressive 0-1 away win over Dynamo Kyiv on Wednesday morning.
The reigning Cypriot champions owed the victory to an 84th minute winner from Anderson, with the goal putting them in a good position heading into the second leg next week wherein they will strive to confirm a spot in the play-offs.
