A Dimitris Salpingidis penalty on the hour mark was enough to give Panathinaikos FC victory against SK Sturm Graz in a game that burst into life after the goal.

Substitute Aleksandr Alumona scored a late winner within seconds of coming on the pitch as FC BATE Borisov rallied to beat nine-man AEK Athens in Minsk and register their first points in Group I.

Panathinaikos  1  Sturm Graz (AUT)  0

There had been few efforts of note before Salpingidis was tripped in the box and stepped up to convert the spot-kick, but within minutes both sides had hit the post and home goalkeeper Alexandros Tzorvas had made vital saves.

Sturm, bottom of UEFA Europa League Group F, duly fell five points behind second-placed Panathinaikos ahead of the teams’ November 5 encounter in Austria.

Having kick-started their campaign with a 1-0 win at FC Dinamo 1948 Bucuresti on Matchday 2, Panathinaikos held the initiative at kick-off and were dominant early on without creating clear-cut chances.

However, Sturm actually came closest to breaking the deadlock before the interval when Manuel Weber ran on to Samir Muratovic’s pass but blazed over with only Tzorvas to beat.

The second period followed a similar pattern until, just before the hour, Loukas Vintra stung the hands of Sturm goalkeeper Christian Gratzei with strong shot and on their next attack Panathinaikos won a penalty.

Mario Sonnleitner tripped Salpingidis as he entered the area and the striker stepped up to produce a spot-kick to the left that eluded Gratzei’s dive.

Sturm’s deficit was nearly short-lived as a high Muratovic free-kick was headed against the post by Gordon Schildenfeld.

Giorgos Karagounis went straight up the other end and from distance his strike drifted beyond the outstretched Gratzei and also rebounded off the woodwork.

Tzorvas then had to make a triple stop – two from Daniel Beichler, one denying Sonnleitner – after another free-kick, this time from substitute Jakob Jantscher, cut through the Panathinaikos rearguard.

However, Sturm could not maintain the pressure.

BATE Borisov (BRS)  2  AEK  1
Ismael Blanco converted a 31st-minute penalty for the Greek visitors, but Aleksandr Pavlov equalised six minutes after half-time and things went from bad to worse for AEK almost immediately when defender Daniel Majstorovic was dismissed for a second yellow card.

Dusan Bajevic’s side looked to have earned a draw until Alumona popped up to head an 85th-minute clincher for the Belarussian champions.

In a turbulent finale, AEK’s Nicolas Arce was also red-carded for a rash challenge, while Bajevic was sent from the dugout.

The result took BATE level on three points with AEK and three behind section pacesetters Benfica and Everton.

In Group I’s other match, Benfica thumped Everton 5-0 in Lisbon.

Both teams struggled with a heavy pitch and first-half opportunities were rare, although Pavlov showed willing with a volley that swung wide of the far post.

AEK offered plenty of neat footwork and attacking intent, getting their reward midway through the half when BATE defender Sergei Sosnovski hauled down Krisztian Nemeth just as the striker was wriggling free.

Blanco dispatched the penalty without fuss, his low drive into the left-hand corner giving keeper Sergei Veremko no chance.

However, the situation unravelled for AEK within ten minutes of the restart.

Dmitri Likhtarovich fired in a shot from outside the area which goalkeeper Sebastian Saja failed to hold; Vitali Rodionov’s follow-up was blocked, but the ball squirted free for Pavlov to turn in from a tight angle.

Two minutes later, Majstorovic picked up his second booking for a foul on Sergei Krivets.

BATE wasted no time applying the pressure and it finally paid off when Alumona nodded in a corner to earn the points.