Panathinaikos celebrated their second consecutive victory under Rafa Benítez era. The Greens prevailed 2–1 over Atromitos in Peristeri, in a match for the 3rd round of the League Phase of the Greek Cup, doubling their wins in the competition.
The Shamrock was superior and, although it found itself trailing against the run of play, it managed a full comeback with goals from Milos Pantović and Filip Mladenovic, both assisted by Pedro Chirivella.
Rafa Benítez lined up the Greens with wide rotation compared to his debut against Asteras in the league, wanting both to refresh the team and to give playing time to as many players as possible. He also fielded the team with a back three and included the young players Fikaj and Bregu in the starting eleven.
After a short adaptation period, the Greens had their first big chance in the 13th minute. They moved the ball nicely, Bregu laid it off for Renato Sanches, who hit the crossbar with a well-placed right-footed shot.
Then in the 22nd minute, Mladenovic’s chip in a one-on-one couldn’t fool Koshelev. In the 32nd, Mancini and Mladenovic both tried strong but inaccurate diagonal shots, while in the 34th minute Mladenovic’s cross to Taborda was deflected.
However, despite Panathinaikos’s dominance, Atromitos opened the scoring. After a corner kick and a header assist from Stavropoulos, Baku scored with another header from close range.
In the 42nd minute, Muntes brought down Jedvaj inside the box; VAR called the referee for an on-field review, but he stuck with his initial decision not to award a penalty.
The Greens entered the second half with determination and quickly equalized. In the 49th minute, Chirivella provided a brilliant through ball for Pantovic, who turned nicely, avoided Koshelev with his right, and slotted home with his left for 1–1 — his first goal for Panathinaikos.
In the 56th minute, Taborda nearly scored from a free-kick by Mladenovic, but eventually, it was Mladenovic himself who sealed the comeback. In the 67th minute, Chirivella lifted a superb lobbed pass to the Serbian full-back, who controlled it perfectly and, with a magnificent chip, sent the ball into the net for 1–2.
Panathinaikos managed their lead excellently until the end. In the only real threat they faced, in the 76th minute, Lafont saved Tsiggaras’s close-range shot and then blocked Chantilas’ follow-up.
The 18-year-old Rusit Zeka made his debut with Panathinaikos’s first team.
Atromitos: Koshelev, Karamanis, Muntes, Stavropoulos, Tsakmakis, Papadopoulos (46’ Moutoussamy), Baku (77’ Van Weert), Michorl, Tsiggaras, Aitor García (62’ Yubitana), Chantilas.
Panathinaikos: Lafont, Jedvaj, Palmer-Brown, Fikaj (88’ Zeka), Mancini, Mladenovic, Chirivella, Sanches (46’ Siopis), Bregu (81’ Nikas), Taborda (64’ Tete), Pantovic (81’ Jeremejeff).
