Panathinaikos and AEK made light work in their away fixtures to take crucial steps forward towards their European aspirations this campaign.
Both clubs advanced to join fellow Greek side PAOK in the third qualifying round of UEFA’s club competitions, with the Greens crucially now having two chances to ensure European football for this term.
The “Trifylli” dominated Botev Plovdiv 0-4 away in the second leg of their Europa League second qualifying round tie, winning 6-1 on aggregate as a result.
Panathinaikos opened the scoring six minutes into the game with an excellent team goal that was polished off by striker Alexander Jeremejeff.
They then doubled their lead in the 34th minute when a long-range strike from midfielder Filip Djuricic took a major deflection off Anthony Ujah to sail into the top left corner.
Djuricic managed to grab a goal of his own right before the break when winger Daniel Mancini delivered a well-placed pass across goal for the Serbian to tap into an empty net (45+. 2′).
Similar to the first half, Jeremejeff struck early in the second period for the Greens (50′) with the goal awarded by VAR after an initial offside call.
Panathinaikos will now face Dutch giants Ajax in the next round, a matchup that promises to be a huge challenge for the “Trifylli” that will require their absolute best to overcome.
AEK downed Inter Club de Escaldes 0-4 away in their Europa Conference League (ECL) second qualifying round fixture, with star striker Levi Garcia leading them to victory with a hat-trick to power Enosi to an 8-3 win on aggregate.
Garcia bagged the first of his goals in the 29th minute before grabbing a second deep into the second half (74′).
AEK then scored two quick goals in the last ten minutes, firstly via winger Nordin Amrabat (83′) before Garcia scored one more (88′) to complete his hat-trick.
The Double-headed eagle of the South will next face Armenian outfit Noah as they continue their push to qualify for the tournament’s league phase.
Pafos earned a 3-0 home success over Zalgiris in extra time to win their tie 4-2 and keep their European dreams alive.
The hosts came into the contest 2-1 behind on aggregate, a deficit which winger Muamer Tankovic reduced in the 21st minute.
The Lithuanian side was dealt a heavy blow when defender Younn Zahary was given a straight red (36′), though they managed to hold on without conceding for the rest of regular time.
The match went into extra time and it was then that Pafos seized control of the tie, scoring in the 101st minute through substitute Anderson and then again in the 118th minute via midfielder Vlad Dragomir ensured the win.
Omonia secured a 1-2 away triumph against Torpedo Kutaisi to win the tie 5-2 on aggregate, joining Pafos and AEK in the ECL’s third qualifying round.
The Nicosia-based outfit struck in the 25th minute, thanks to striker Mariusz Stepinski, though the hosts would equalise right after half time through forward Momo Yansane (47′).
Omonia eventually restored their lead after winger Willy Semedo converted a penalty (81′) in what proved to be the winner.
AEK Larnaca fell 0-2 in their home game against Paksi FC, losing 0-5 on aggregate to be the only Hellenic side to be eliminated from Europe.
The Hungarian club sealed the Cypriot side’s elimination with two goals in the first half, courtesy of striker Zsolt Haraszti (19′) and midfielder Kristof Papp (42′).
