Panathinaikos stunned BSC Young Boys and fans alike as they fought their way to their most comprehensive win by far this season, led chiefly by a first half blitz, in a result they will hope marks the beginning of further good things to come.
The Greens earned a 4-1 away win over the Swiss outfit on Friday morning (AEST) in the first matchday of the Europa League’s League Phase, securing an important three points in one of their most promising performances of the campaign.
The match started perfectly for Panathinaikos as they struck three times inside the opening 20 minutes of the contest.
The “Trifylli” struck first in the tenth minute through an athletic Karol Swiderski finish wherein he used the toe of his boot to reach Tete’s bouncing pass and flicked it behind his body into the left side of the net.
The Greens followed it up with their second just three minutes later when a Renato Sanches corner from the left found its way to Anass Zaroury at the back post, who then struck it sweetly through keeper Marvin Keller’s legs and into the goal (13′).
Panathinaikos continued their push and made it three in the 19th minute after captain Anastasios Bakasetas unleashed a long-range strike which Keller saved but deflected into the path of Zaroury, who subsequently knocked the ball in.
The Swiss side showed some fightback and managed to get on the scoresheet themselves in the 25th minute when right back Saidy Janko advanced forward and released a grounded shot that surprised Greens shot stopper Alban Lafont and settled into the bottom left.
Zaroury eventually secured his hat-trick in the 68th minute after meeting Giannis Kotsiras’s cross in the box and guiding it into the left side of the net.
The win marks an emphatic start for the Greens’ Europa League campaign, setting them up positively in their goal of advancing to the knockout stage.
